Field Projects
“To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything”. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Italian Journey, 1817.
I like to involve professionals and students who take my technical imaging training into research projects I have in Sicily. Thanks to a network of passionate colleagues who volunteer their time it is possible to do research on Sicilian cultural heritage, art, architecture and archaeology. Currently, I propose my trainees and international conservation scientists these projects:
Newly Discovered 1700s Frescoes, Aci Sant’Antonio (Italiano)
Aci Sant’Antonio, Sicily, it’s my hometown. Just recently,2012, in the main Church, some frescoes were discovered. At the four angles of the Crocifisso Chapel, during some renovation works, older frescoes were found behind the neoclassic decoration. I’m running this project with the help of Raffaello di Mauro, the architect in charge of the conservation program and Don Vittorio Rocca, the priest of the community. I started this project in July 2013.
July 2013 – Multispectral Imaging
August 2013 – X-ray Fluorescence spectroscopy of pigments
Nov 2013 – FORS (Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy)
Dec 2013 – News in Conservation – issue 39 – Get out of the Lab, Now!
Feb 2014 – Terahertz Imaging
Sept 2014 – A. Cosentino, S. Stout, R di Mauro, C. Perondi “The Crucifix Chapel of Aci Sant’Antonio: Newly Discovered Frescoes” Archeomatica, 2, 36–42, 2014.
Feb 2015 – A. Cosentino, M. Gil, M. Ribeiro, R. Di Mauro “Technical Photography for mural paintings: the newly discovered frescoes in Aci Sant’Antonio (Sicily, Italy)” Conservar Património 20, 23-33, 2014.
April 2015 – Conference in Aci Sant’Antonio to present the diagnostics campaign and raise funds for the conservation project.
April 2015 – TECHNART 2015 Intl Conference, Catania. ” The newly discovered 18th century wall paintings in Aci Sant’Antonio (20 downloads )”
Catacombs, Roman and medieval mural paintings, Syracuse
The catacombs in Syracuse are the largest after those in Rome, and they preserve mural paintings dating from the 4th – 5th century AC until early medieval XIII century AC. The honorary president of the Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra, professor of Christian Archaeology and current Regional Superintendent for Cultural Heritage, Mariarita Sgarlata, granted access to the two catacombs in Syracuse; San Giovanni and Santa Lucia. Anything else is organized by two amazing professionals, Elisa Bonacini, an archaeologist with a keen interest in new technologies for digital communication in museums and Carmelo Scandurra, collaborator for the Pontificial Department of the Catacombs of East Sicily from 2009.
August 2013 – X-ray Fluorescence spectroscopy of pigments and multispectral imaging
Dec 2013 – News in Conservation – issue 39 – Get out of the Lab, Now!
Nov 2014 – EuroMed 2014 “Non-invasive materials analysis using Portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) in the Examination of Two Mural Paintings in the Catacombs of San Giovanni, Syracuse”
March 2015 – A. Cosentino, S. Stout, C. Scandurra “Innovative Imaging Techniques for Examination and Documentation of mural paintings and historical graffiti in the catacombs of San Giovanni, Syracuse” International Journal of Conservation Science, 6, 1, 23–34, 2015.
Sicilian Cart Museum, Aci Sant’Antonio
Aci Sant’Antonio has just seen the opening in 2014 of its Sicilian carts Museum (Museo del Carretto Siciliano). CHSOS wants to contribute to the development of the cultural program of this museum, providing the first technical examination and documentation of this art. The Sicilian cart is an ornate, colorful style of horse or donkey-drawn cart native to the island of Sicily. Aci Sant’Antonio played a pivotal role in the development of this fashion since it was the location of the painters specialized in the decoration of the carts. Another important workshop was in Palermo, serving the cart production on East Sicily. The west and east workshops developed different artistic styles, motives and colors.
August 2013 UCSD provides X-ray Fluorescence spectroscopy of a cart board piece
Nov 2014 A. Cosentino, S. Stout “Photoshop and Multispectral Imaging for Art Documentation” e-Preservation Science, 11, 91–98, 2014. This paper illustrates the examination of a cart board piece.
Nov 2014 D. Vanoni, S. Stout, A. Cosentino, F. Kuester, “Artifact Conservation: Representation and Analysis of Spectroscopic and Multispectral Imaging Data Using Augmented Reality” ICOMOS 18th General Assembly, Emerging tools for Conservation Practice, Nov 9-14 2014, Florence, Italy. ICOMOS 2014 Poster.pdf
Dec 2014 – Presenting the Sicilian Carts Museum at the eCult Winter Stage in Athens, interview video.
March 2015 – The museum featured on Free eBook “Success Stories: eCultValue”
Savoca, Sicilian medieval village
Savoca was founded in 1134 by Roger II, king of the Normans, and it was a barony ruled by the archimandrite of the monastery of SS. Salvatore in Messina. The town, was the location for scenes of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. CHSOS is involved in the documentation and study of the mural paintings in the Church of San Michele (14th century).
June 2015 Studying Wall Paintings. Savoca (Sicily)
August 2015 Crowdfunding for Art Conservation in Savoca (Sicily)
In the heart of Sicily, Assoro
Thanks to the collaboration with Raffaello di Mauro, it is possible to access the many artworks which Assoro preserves. Raffaello is an conservation architect with more than 20 years experience in Sicilian architecture and he has been working on the conservation of a number or historical buildings in Assoro.
Nov 2013 – Istanbul conservator training in Sicily – Muge Uckan training in Multispectral Imaging in Assoro.
Jan 2014 – Submitted paper to Archeomatica – “FORS, Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy con gli spettrometri miniaturizzati per l’identificazione dei pigmenti.”
June 2014 – A. Cosentino “FORS, Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy con gli spettrometri miniaturizzati per l’identificazione dei pigmenti” Archeomatica, 1, 16–22, 2014.
