Hands-On: Three Encounters With Ancient Materials at Desenzano’s Villa Romana

A three-part event series on building materials for conservation is set to take place at the Villa Romana in Desenzano del Garda, starting Saturday at 17:30. Titled “A toccar con mano…”, the programme is organised by DISVELARTE: Restauro & Conservazione in collaboration with the Regional Directorate of National Museums in Lombardy, combining lectures with hands-on demonstrations of how key materials are used and preserved in an archaeological context.

The first appointment is Saturday, 12 September, “A toccar con mano… la calce”, led by Davide Sigurtà and Daniele Calvi, covering the history of lime and its types and methods, followed by practical preparation of lime mortar and demonstrations using sample mixes. On Saturday, 19 September, “A toccar con mano… i mosaici”, with Sigurtà and Alessandra Costa, will address mosaic history and production techniques, then include execution of a small mosaic and conservation work on an ancient mosaic. The cycle concludes on Saturday, 3 October, “A toccar con mano… la pietra”, curated by Sigurtà and Ivan Confortini, featuring a lecture on local stones (Botticino, Corso and Medolo), historical stone-working tools, and guided use of those tools on prepared samples.

Access to the Villa and events requires a ticket: €6.00 purchased on site, or €12.00 for an annual pass that includes events. DISVELARTE was formed from the “Recuperando” working group created after the December 2004 Garda earthquake to bring together complementary expertise in a multidisciplinary conservation approach.
Italian Version