By  the magazine "The Rome review" february 2004

Lignarius: where to learn how to restore

By Aureliana Iapadre and Scarlet

A nice chat whit Paola and Stefano, The Lignarius cultural association founders.

Paola Staccioli, Writer and freelance journalist whit Stefano Nespoli, art and antiquities consultant for the Rome tribunal, established the non-profit organization LIGNARIUS in 1992. They have dedicated their lives to such a project and this determination has made the difference in the quality and creativity of Lignarius courses. The association is also involved in the “salvaguardia” of ancient artisan works and once year, during the spring, they organize an exhibition of ancient art and instruments. They also wrote a book titled “Roma Artigiana”,Newton Compton, 1996.

The school is situated in the heart of the oldest part of Rome in the characteristic “Rione Monti” where many traditional artisans still work in their shops.

When you get there you quickly feel at home. People are very friendly; the ambience is cool. There are different laboratories close to each other and this particular situation makes it easier to have contact whit different disciplines. Even if you decide to attend a mosaic course, you will definitely be overwhelmed by the other courses.

“Lignarius offers a comprehensive range of courses both practical and theoretical held by experienced and trained teachers”, Paola said. “And all courses are attended by reasonable number of students-never more than 10-and about 10% of the participants are foreigners.”

Which are the elements that make Lignarius different from the courses organised by other Roman organizations?

In Rome there are many places in which someone can learn the art of restoration or artistic glass and many artisans are used to teach in their own shops, but their courses tend to be mostly practical. On the contrary, Lignarius guarantees an absolute balance between theory and practice and, in this way, the participants preparation is more complete.

Furthermore, our school offers, as I said before, a great choice of courses. In this sense Lignarius represents a unique experience in Rome because it is the only place in which it is possible to follow every sort of courses, from restoration to ceramics, glass, sculpture and so on. Don’t forget that all the participants receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the course.

Can you give us an idea about the courses organized by Lignarius?

I will quickly describe the main courses but, in my opinion, the best thing to do is to visit our web site www.lignarius.net. You can learn restoration. It is an ancient and fascinating art that enables us to restore a piece of furniture, a painting, a book or a frame to its original beauty. It’s possible to choose among the following specialisations: furniture restoration, painting restoration, paper restoration and restoration of ceramics.

Then there is antique Italian furniture. Here we teach the history of furniture.

You will see that the furniture style is strongly influenced by social, cultural and artistic changes. Recognising a piece of furniture or painting style, or being able to distinguish an authentic piece from a fake. It’s an important aspect for those who wish to acquire some knowledge of Italy’s artistic and cultural development.

In our school you can also learn the art of glass. This course enables one to create elegant and decorative objects and interior design projects.

Then the mural decoration and Trompe l’Oleil trains even complete beginners in the techniques required to bring a touch of creativity to decorating walls, furniture and objects.

It is also possible to attend ceramics - this course enable one to work and decorate clay. In drawing and painting – one can learn the different techniques that are taught on subject. Then there is Mosaic. Here the history of mosaic and the various techniques are taught. At the and, anyone is able to make a mosaic with glass and marble chips.

There is also a course on Sculpture that teaches how to draw from life, plastic art and mould in plaster.

Apart from the courses, does Lignarius also organise extra activities?

Yes, for example guided tours, conferences and arts and crafts exhibitions. Furthermore, once a year we organizes a trip to one city particularly interesting under an artistic point of view, for example in 2003 we have been to San Pietroburgo.

During the interview we had the possibility to look around and the general impression was very good: smiling people talking about their last lesson, young artist walking around whit their works of art, colours and handcrafts everywhere. It’s right place to become a specialised artisan or an artist enjoying him or herself and getting in touch with other people who have the same interests.

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