“On the “restoration” of cultural heritage. Viaticum for students” by Marco Ciatti

The volume will be the subject of a meeting to be held on Tuesday 29 November at 6:00 pm in the cinema hall of the Museo Novecento in Florence. Accompanying the author in the presentation of the book will be Sergio Risaliti, Director of the Museo Novecento, Carlo Sisi, President of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Fulvio Cervini, Professor of Medieval Art History at the University of Florence.

In continuity with the Notes for a manual of history and theory of restoration (Edifir, 2009), with which it shares the popular intention addressed to students of art history and restoration, as well as professionals in the sector, this volume illustrates a series of reflections derived from Ciatti’s long professional experience, gained in the field of restoration of works of art, which can serve as a “viaticum” for those who want to engage in this complex discipline, still not always sufficiently thorough. and victim of many misconceptions. In this sense, the volume deals with the theme of restoration from the inexorable passage of time to the choice of the operator on how and whether to act; how the restoration may or may not be reversible, thus also investigating the future of the cultural heritage, from war damage to atmospheric catastrophes; as in the past, steps were taken to bring cultural heritage to the enjoyment of future generations, from the documentation of restoration activities to the latest technological avant-gardes, up to the theme of contemporary restoration. Through expedients and episodes to make the theory clearer and more concrete, Ciatti warns the reader about the “deadly sins” of the restoration, too often carried out because they were carried out in good faith by the experts themselves: yet, the author concludes, “the restoration is the means chosen to ensure the conservation of the work, not to make it a manifesto of oneself or one’s ideas”.