Professor Giorgio Croci, long-time ICCROM collaborator, passed away on 16 April 2021 at the age of 85. Born in Rome, Giorgio Croci graduated in civil engineering at the University La Sapienza in 1960. He was appointed Professor of Structural Engineering at the same University in 1984. He later also lectured on the safeguarding and structural consolidation of historic structures in ICCROM’s international courses: the Stone Conservation course and the course on the Conservation of Built Heritage, as well as training activities held through the ATHAR programme in the Arab Region.
In 1985, Croci founded the Studio Progettazione e Controlli, SPC s.r.l., which specializes in the fields of design and control of civil engineering and architectural projects. In 1996, on his initiative, ICOMOS established “The International Scientific Committee on the Analysis and Restoration of Structures of Architectural Heritage” (ISCARSAH) as a forum and network for engineers and architects involved in the restoration and care of built heritage. He was the first president of the Committee, and the initiator for drafting the ICOMOS Charter on the Principles for the Analysis, Conservation and Structural Restoration of Architectural Heritage (ISCARSAH Principles), ratified by the 14th General Assembly of ICOMOS in 2003.
Giorgio Croci was dedicated especially to the survey and consolidation of historic structures, becoming a leading specialist in this field. In Italy, he was involved in various important projects, such as the structural consolidation of the Colosseum and the remains of the royal palaces on the Palatine Hill, the restoration of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi after the 1997 earthquake, and the consolidation of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He was involved in a large number of international projects often in collaboration with UNESCO, ICOMOS and ICCROM. For example, he was a member of the UNESCO Commission for the conservation of the Temples of Angkor in Cambodia, consultant for safeguarding the Citadel of Jerusalem, as well as member of the international team advising on the preservation of Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul.
In 1995, he undertook a mission on behalf of ICCROM to the Republic of Korea to provide the Korean Ministry of Culture with technical advice on the stability of the ancient city gates of Seoul. In 1998, he was asked by ICCROM to undertake an emergency technical mission requested by UNESCO to evaluate structural problems of the 11th and 12th century churches in Andorra, damaged by lightning. From the 1990s, Croci was member of the commission established by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who contracted ICCROM to collaborate with Italian institutions in diagnostic studies to define the safest conditions to transfer of Stele of Axum back to Ethiopia. This ancient monument, over 30m tall, had been brought to Rome from Ethiopia in 1937 in five pieces and erected in front of the “Ministry for Italian Africa” (today headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), close to the ancient Circus Maximus. In 2003, Croci supervised the dismantling of the Stele, which was transported back to Axum two years later and then re-erected on the original site in Axum in 2008.
Giorgio Croci was a frequent lecturer at several universities as well as at ICCROM, and he authored numerous publications especially concerning structural analyses and remedial measures. He has also published several case studies on projects where he had been involved, which remain a valuable lesson for future generations.
On behalf of the Director-General Webber Ndoro and the ICCROM Staff, we extend the deepest condolences to his family and colleagues.
Jukka Jokilehto