San Gemini

Historic Preservation

Important notice:

The application deadline is this Friday, March 14th, Please send application forms, deposit and supporting material by the deadline.

If you can't get recommendations or transcripts in by Friday, get a letter from your advising office describing the program you are enrolled in and stating that you are a student in good standing. If you are not in school get a letter of recommendation from your employer.

May 24 - August 10

2 0 0 8

Course Schedule

Program A: *

5 weeks

Saturday, May 24 - Sunday, June 29

Courses:

• Introduction to Art Restoration in Italy

534: Field Study (3 credits)

• Surveying and Analyzing Historic Buildings

561 Measured Drawings for Architects (3 credits)

Program B:

3 Weeks course:
Saturday, May 24- Sunday, June 16

• History of Italian Garden and Urban Landscape
landscape Architecture 383 (3 Credits)

Program C:*

5 weeks

Saturday, July 5 - Sunday, August 10

Courses:

• Traditional Painting Methods, Deterioration Factors and

Restoration Techniques

562: Preservation Technology Laboratory (3 credits)***

• Preservation Theory and Practice in Italy

533: Topics in Architectural Theory (3 credits)

Note:

* All students in this session must take both course offered for a total of 6 credits.

Class sizes are limited. This course list and schedule are tentative, awaiting approval and enrollments.

Schedule Summer 2008

Program

The San Gemini Preservation Studies Program is a program that was started in 1999 by the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in collaboration with other institutions to promote studies in the preservation of cultural heritage.

The Program’s courses are aimed at architects, planners, art historians, museum curators, historians, engineers, and other individuals who will be involved in the planning, management and study of cultural heritage.

Our primary goal is to instruct students on:

• Methods to analyze cultural objects, both in their physical and contextual aspects

• Methods and tools for material restoration and conservation

• Strategies for the preservation of cultural heritage

• Advantages and drawbacks to restoration

• Italian art, architectural and landscape traditions

The program is organized around classroom courses, field research, field projects and travel to places of cultural interest in Central Italy.

Philosophy

The purpose of preserving cultural heritage is to enhance our awareness of who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. The world is changing at extraordinary speed. Our heritage is under assault on many fronts: biological, environmental and cultural. Our world’s diverse cultural heritage is being rapidly replaced by a homogeneous global industrial culture. As we deal with these changes, it is imperative that we retain our cultural heritage and its valuable diversity either as a clear memory or, where appropriate, as a vital, living part of it.

Cultural objects are a material form of memory carrying evidence of all the complex historical and cultural forces that created them. Preserving and understanding such heritage requires a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach. All cultural events are the result of the infinite number of forces that generate them. We attempt, within our means, to study objects and cultural events from as many disciplines as are relevant.

We’ve directed our efforts at a singular territory, the hill town of San Gemini, in the central Italian region of Umbria. Our approach to studying culture is to thoroughly explore one particular place or object and then to follow the threads that connect it to events in the larger world. Focusing on one place has allowed us to better understand the cultural fabric that carries the objects we study. In this way we are able to accomplish two things: first, we generate knowledge and work that is useful to this particular town and second, we learn about patterns of cultural interconnection, an important tool in preserving cultural heritage that can be applied anywhere in the world.

The process of studying and preserving our cultural heritage must be not be left only to experts but must be a process that engages our whole society. Any intelligent and curious person, regardless of background or expertise, can actively participate and profit from such study by bringing their effort, ability, experience and perception to our thinking process.

City of San Gemini

Umbria, Italy

San Gemini is a beautiful, small hill town in Umbria along the ancient Roman road, the Via Flaminia. Located between Rome and Florence, it is a convenient base for travel in central Italy. Rome can be reached in one hour; other cities such as Perugia, Spoleto, Todi, Assisi, and Orvieto are even closer. Situated within easy reach of a wealth of cultural resources (museums, libraries, and many of the world’s treasures of art and architecture), San Gemini is a friendly town where students can easily meet local people and enjoy life in the Italian countryside.

The town has been settled continuously since ancient Roman times to the present. On a small scale, its history and urban evolution parallel that of most Italian cities, making it a manageable and comprehensible microcosm of Italian life and history.

Travel

An important component of our program is travel so students will have an opportunity to visit significant cities and preservation sites in central Italy. Our trips include stops at places of general cultural and artistic interest such as major monuments and museums, as well as visits closely related to our study such as active restoration sites, historic gardens and centers for restoration research and education.

Some of the cities we’ve already visited include:

Rome,Florence, Siena, Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto, Todi, Lucca, Montepulciano, Pienza, San Gimignano.

Travel

Preservation-related visits we’ve made include:

Rome

Istituto Centrale per il Restauro

Restoration of the frescos in the Pyramid of Caius Cestius

Cleaning of Michelangelo’s Statue of Moses

Restoration of the column of the Virgin in Piazza di Spagna

Cleaning of the facade of the Casa dei Rienzi

Restoration of the fountain dell’Acqua Paola

Perugia

Restoration of the Casa Canonica of San Lorenzo

Restoration of Palazzo Priorio

Assisi

Restoration of the Church of San Francesco

Florence

Opificio della Pietra Dura painting restoration lab

Restoration of the facade of Palazzo Pitti

Adaptive reuse of the side wing of Palazzo Pitti

Restoration of the sculptures in the Bobboli Gardens

Restoration of the gardens at Villa di Castello

Restoration of the lantern of the Sacrestia Nuova

(by Michelangelo) at the Church of San Lorenzo

Restoration of the Capella dei Principi at the Church of

San Lorenzo

Siena

Adaptive reuse of the Santa Maria della Scala hospital

Prato

Restoration of the fresco cycle of San Giovanni Battista

and San Stefano (by Fra Filippo Lippi)

Course:

Introduction to Art Restoration in Italy

534: Field Study (3 credits) Syllabus

Program A Saturday, May 24 - Sunday, June 29 (5 weeks)

Instructor : Nikos Vakalis , Max Cardillo

This course introduces students to preservation issues and theory in Italy. It explores the traditional materials and techniques used by artists and architects.

The course will study the following subjects:

· • Traditional materials and methods used by the artist:

Sculpture

Freestanding

Architectural decorations

Painting

Murals,

Wood panels

Canvas

Ceramics

Pottery

Architectural components

• ·Causes of material deterioration

• Traditional methods of restoration

• ·Modern methods of restoration and

preservation

• ·Cesare Brandi and the modern theory of

restoration

The course includes: Lectures, field work, field trips.

Course:

Surveying and Analyzing Historic Buildings

561 Measured Drawings for Architects (3 credits ) Syllabus

Program A May 24 - June 29 (5 weeks)

Instructor: Max Cardillo

This course teaches students to perform complex, multidisciplinary surveys of historic buildings that record and document both the physical aspects of a

building and also the historic and cultural context in which it evolves. Topics explored in the course are:

• Contextual overview

Historical overview of Italy

History of urban evolution in Italy

History of San Gemini and the region

Italian building types

Traditional construction methods in Italy

• The architectural survey methods

Measuring buildings

Using surveying tools

Architectural drawing and documentation

• Analysis and documentation of the state of conservation

Structural condition

Weather enclosure

Condition of finished surfaces

Condition of mechanical systems

Condition of art and contents of building

• Historical and cultural survey includes:

Historical documentation of the building

The building’s evolution

Urban context

Archaeological evidence

Stylistic analysis of its art and architecture

Survey and documentation of artwork

Building contents,

Iconography

Social and religious contexts

The course includes lectures and fieldwork on one of the following projects:

• Surveying the 12^th-century San Giovanni Battista Church complex

Architectural survey

Archival research (open only to qualified students)

• Survey of the Church of Santo Gemine

• Archaeological survey of the public baths in Carsulae

Course:

History of Italian Garden and Urban Landscape
383 Landscape Architecture (3 credits)
Program B May 24 – June 16 (3 Weeks) Syllabus

This course is being offered in association with the Department of Landscape Architecture UW Madison.

Instructors: Max Cardillo, Arnold Alanen, John Harrington, Greg Thomson and visiting lecturers

A long tradition of gardens in Italy, going back thousands of years from classical times to the present, offers a great opportunity to study a very important aspect of man made environments. Gardens over time not only represent an important expression of design but also offer a window into other aspects of culture such as art, science, literature, religion, philosophy, and perhaps most importantly the attitude that people have towards nature.

The course will be organized around a series of Lectures given in San Gemini and field trips to various gardens and cities in Central Italy.

Topics to be studied:

· Climate and natural flora of Italy

· Garden plants in Italian gardens

Food plants

Spices and medicinal herbs

Decorative flowers

· Evolution of the Garden in Italy

"Paradeize”, Garden of Eden and gardens of the Ancient World

Roman and Greek gardens:

Domus

Villa rustica

Palace gardens

Plant decoration in architecture

Medieval vegetable and medicinal gardens:

Hortus inclusus

Convent gardens and cloisters

Renaissance gardens:

Formal Gardens

Limonaie and the greenhouse

Modern horticulture

Floral decoration

Baroque gardens:

The garden as architecture

The ornamental garden

The amusement park

Flowers, fruits, and landscapes in art

Botanical gardens

Padua and Pisa Botanical Gardens

18^th-century Illuminis

19^th-century romantic gardens

Public urban parks

Natural reserves

The cultural role of the Garden

· Gardens as:

Scientific laboratories botany and medicine

Urban space

Architecture

Architectural decoration

Symbol : art, religion, philosophy and literature

Connection point between man and nature

Visits will include:

Pompeii, Caserta, Ninfa, Naples, Villa Borghese, Villa Medici, Villa Giulia

Villa d’Este, Hadrian’s Villa, Caprarola, Villa Lante, Bomarzo

Boboli Gardens, La Petraia, Villa Castello, Giardino dei Semplici

Course:

Traditional Painting Methods and Restoration Techniques

562: Preservation Technology Laboratory (3 credits) Syllabus

Program C Saturday, July5th - Sunday, August 10th (5 weeks)

Instructor : Nikos Vakalis

This course aims at doing an in-depth study of traditional painting techniques and materials common in Italy during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, factors that hastened their deterioration and approaches to their restoration.

The course focuses on the methods and materials. It includes lectures, field trips and a workshop in which students create paintings using traditional methods.

This course is aimed primarily at art historians, museum curators, restoration students and artists.

Part I

Traditional methods and materials in painting:.

• Frescos painting traditions:

Ancient Roman

Renaissance

• Painting on wood board using 14^th Century methods

Board preparation

Gesso rendering

Gilding

Pigments & temperas

Painting

• Oil painting on canvas using 17^th Century methods

Stretchers

Canvas

Rendering

Pigments & oil binders

Part II

Causes of material deterioration:

• Wear and tear

• Environmental

• Biological attack

Part III

Methods of restoration for painting :

• Analysis

• Consolidation

• Cleaning

• Lacunae and retouching

Course:

Preservation Issues and Theory

533: Topics in Architectural Theory (3 credits) Syllabus

Program C Saturday, July 5th - Sunday, August 10th (5 weeks)

Instructor : Max Cardillo

This seminar course encourages students to closely examine the purpose of preservation, the major problems facing a preservationist and the different approaches to these problems.

Readings and discussions will be structured around the following topic headings:

The course will study the following topics:

Transformation, time and memory

Restoration and preservation

Restoration theory

Historical practices of restoration and preservation

Concept of cultural heritage

Object vs. Idea

Historical vs. aesthetical considerations in restoration

Original intent of the artist

Wholeness in art

Context

Frames

Museums

Cleaning

Lacunae and integration

Reconstructions, completions, additions, adaptive reuse

Strategies of restoration

The course includes lectures by visiting scholars and visits to sites in central Italy relevant to issues in preservation.

Research and Field Work

Projects

Survey and Restoration of

The Church of San Giovanni Battista

One of the oldest structures in San Gemini, the church is located at the northeast corner of the town. The church has a very attractive Romanesque façade on its west side built in 1199. Its history is as sketchy as the development of its very irregular plan.

The work started in 1999, focusing on the survey and documentation of the Romanesque façade of the church. Over time the scope expanded to cover the whole church, the adjacent Augustinian monastery, and various other structures that surround the church and the Piazzetta of San Giovanni Battista.

The goal of this project is to produce a comprehensive survey and documentation of the church, reconstruct its evolution over time, and produce a diagnostic study of the present condition of the church that will be used in its future restoration.

The survey includes:

• Measured architectural drawings

• Photographic survey

• Survey of the art and iconography of the church

• Survey of the history

• Study of the urban context and evolution of the

church

• Structural survey

• Archaeological survey

Partial restoration work was started in 2003. The cleaning and consolidation of the 12^th-century facade was completed in 2004.

Archaeological Excavation of the Public Baths, Carsulae

In 2004, we began the survey and architectural documentation of the public baths in the Roman city of Carsulae (2nd-century BCE to 2nd-century CE). Over the next few years, we will continue excavating and documenting the baths.

Survey of the Church of Santo Gemine, San Gemini

The so-called Duomo (or cathedral) of San Gemini is a church that was probably first built in the 13th century on top of an older structure (perhaps Roman). It has been transformed many times over its history; the last major renovation of the interior was in the 18th century, perhaps with some input by Canova. Work in 2005 will include archaeological test pits outside the church and an architectonic survey of the church.

Faculty

Program Director : Max Cardillo

Teaches architectural design, historic preservation, and urban design. Mr. Cardillo is a practicing architect who has worked in Rome, New York and Milwaukee. Since 1999, he has been Director of the San Gemini Preservation Studies Program and Project Architect for the Archaeological Excavation of the Public Baths at Carsulae.

Education:

B.A., University of Wisconsin; M. Arch., Columbia University; Laurea di Architettura, Università di Palermo

Teaching:

Adjunct Professor, Parsons School of Design, 1980-1984

Adjunct Professor, University of Wisconsin, SARUP, 1995-2004

Nikos Vakalis

Teaches art restoration in mural painting, stone and wood.

Mr. Vakalis is a practicing art restorer, having worked for the past 25 years on many sites in Rome and central Italy.

Education:

Degree of Art Restoration, Istituto Centrale per il Restauro

Teaching:

Lecturer: ICCROM / ICR “Project Euromed Heritage 1 Maghreb” Algiers (Algeria), Rabat (Morocco), University of Wisconsin, SARUP, San Gemini, 1999-2004