Learning from the Experts - The 2022 APTI-Assorestauro Grand Tour of Italy

Touring project sites across Northern Italy, the preservation professionals spent in-depth time observing restoration techniques and discussing best practices with project leaders at a variety of sites. Cities included Milan, Bologna, Ferrara, Venice, and Mantova with projects varying from structural stabilization at bell towers to theatre restorations to palazzi to hidden synagogues and major basilicas. Topics included masonry, stucco, and frescoe conservation; structural interventions to stabilize bell towers and main cathedral piers as well as post-earthquake seismic retrofits; brick and stone conservation, cleaning techniques, and many other details.

In addition to the scheduled tours and seeking to understand the issues of the region, I scoured the cities for large scale and small details that encapsulated the mystery of deterioration of traditional building materials. Discovering hundreds of examples of deteriorated masonry, mortar, and stucco finishes that had become the norm for buildings of northern Italy. While these levels of deterioration were concerning to me, they were accepted and not concerning to the architects and conservators we learned from. Stucco was sacrificial and would be replaced - eventually. Mortar was soft to begin with and would be replaced when enough fell out. Walls such as the one in the Jewish ghetto of Venice (below) were common.

I also had the opportunity to explore the cities at night to see how they changed. Often times, night lighting brought out a different perspective on the buildings that revealed their flaws in different ways. The Rotondo Antonio Faschini (title image and image below) showed its shape against the dark skies more dramatically. The Ferrara Cathedral revealed the constant development and progress that marks major facilities in Italy. They are constantly undergoing renovations or additions, converting them from medieval structures, to gothic cathedrals and beyond.

Richaven Principal, Brian Rich, seeks to continually improve his understanding of archaic building construction and materials in order to better understand the conditions and materials observed in projects everyday. This tour was packed with specific technical information and daily observations that are important to growing experience and expertise in working with historic buildings. Richaven looks forward to serving clients and communities alike utilizing these experiences on future projects. Give Brian a call if you have something that you're concerned about.