International training camp in Siena from January 31 to February 16, 2023

As part of the Erasmus + EUROQUALIF project We are going to carry out three international school sites. The worksite-school makes it possible to combine the complexity of real work situations with a reassuring educational framework. The worksite school is project-based teaching, meetings, interprofessional dialogue and the promotion of learning by carrying out effective and useful work. And when the worksite-school is international and brings together professionals and students from several countries, in a mecca for mural painting such as the city of Siena, trained by a high-level restorer, everything is in place so that the site is a continuous source of enrichment – practices, techniques, knowledge – and shared pleasure!

Or? At the Palazzo Piccolomini, erected in 1469 by the nephews of Pope Pius 2 on the occasion of his election. Subsequently passed through various hands, the Palazzo became the property of the sub-intendance for Historic Monuments (Italian Ministry of Culture) and the seat, among other authorities, of the State archives. In 2023, only 3 rooms of the Palace have not yet been restored. These are the rooms that our Belgian, French and Italian teams have taken over to practice mural painting restoration techniques.

Who? Students in decorative painting, apprentices in building painting, architect trainers, painters, decorator or heritage painters, a communication officer and a director 😬.

And all under the leadership of a restorer of historical monuments, Il Signore Simone Vettori (to his credit, some restorations of frescoes by Masaccio, Rafael or Piero della Francesca, sorry!!!), in Masterclass on behalf of the ESSE (the school of construction of Siena), our hosts during these almost 3 weeks of construction 😁

What? A detailed review of the techniques of restoration in mural painting, from the preparatory stages of observation and documentation to those of the consolidation of the visible decorated surfaces, to the release of the covered decorations, their cleaning and pictorial retouching.