The course began in early March, and over eight weeks the participants worked their way through different modules that addressed all aspects of heritage conservation. The words of two participants reflect the sentiments of those who participated and the variety of experiences the course offered.

Ştefan Bâlici of Romania had this to say, mid course:

The programme has been intensive from the very beginning and, moreover, the variety of issues discussed and wealth of information put forth have made it even more so. After examining the definition of heritage along with historic and conceptual issues, followed by the discussion of management systems and approaches and management planning, we moved to the documentation of built heritage, and then to condition assessment and deterioration of materials and structures.

Throughout the course, we have had diverse experiences; lectures alternated with group work, applications on site at the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, then laboratory and discussions. And in between, we have had presentations that each one of us prepared on themes related to our work and to the subjects discussed during classes. There has been a lot to learn and it still is much to reflect upon and to put in order.

The visit to the Colosseum and the centre of Rome in the first weekend and later the study trip to Florence, with the site lectures on historic vaulting and roof structures by Prof. Gennaro Tampone, were among the highlights of the course, and so was our recent visit to the restoration site of Santa Maria Antiqua in the Roman Forum, where we had the privilege to be guided by Mr. Werner Schmid, the leader of the restoration team. There is still one more study trip planned, to Herculaneum, and that of course is well awaited.

Meanwhile we are also trying to make the best of the time we spend together and with the resource persons. Not least, ICCROM’s Library – even if visited only briefly during the breaks – has proven a valuable source of information on every aspect of cultural heritage, which many of us will benefit from during our stay in Rome.

The course came to a close with a special module on "World Heritage and Sustainable Development", which was made possible thanks to collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the Herculaneum Conservation Project and the Herculaneum Centre. There, the participants had the chance to work on several case studies on sustainable development at the archaeological site.

For the past five weeks, 22 participants from 21 countries have made ICCROM their home. They have built on their diverse experiences to create new knowledge, the result of which has been powerful and touching for all involved. The farewell speech given by participant Manuela Legen-Preissl, from Austria, during the closing ceremony attests to this:

It was a great opportunity and honour to attend the lectures of so many people coming from around the world, who shared with us their knowledge and experiences. In this course we could compare and validate our own experiences in a wide international context, which is us (22 persons from 21 countries), but also the team of the course, lecturers and resource persons. It is a global vision of the state of conservation that cannot be found anywhere else but ICCROM. The course challenged our opinions and view of heritage, showing it as a much more complex and diverse reality.

In addition to the lectures, we will remember of the site visits in Florence, the 'scavi' of San Pietro, Trastevere with Jukka Jokilehto, the current excavations in Naples and the amazing Herculaneum.

And also on the personal level for me, and I suppose for all of us, it has been a special experience to know every one of you with your different cultures, traditions and experiences. Among many other things, this course showed us the degree of universality that heritage makes possible.

Member states represented: Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lesotho, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, Romania, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey

updated on: 16 May, 2012