Federica
Delia

Federica Delia is a conservator-restorer and owner of the Recto Verso restoration workshop based in Rome. She holds degrees in the Conservation and Restoration of Bibliographic Heritage and in Archival and Library Studies, and has attended advanced training courses and professional development workshops in Italy and abroad. Since 2019, she has been a lecturer in ‘Paper Restoration’ at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and, since 2021, at the School of Fine Arts of the ICPAL (Institute for Conservation, Restoration and the Arts). She has also taught ‘Conservation and Restoration of Photographs’ at the Sapienza University of Rome and the ICCD (Italian Cultural Heritage Institute). She works as a freelance professional for institutions and private collectors in Italy and internationally. She is involved in research projects, particularly on Asian paper. Further details can be found on the following website.

The course aims to provide a basic understanding of the conservation and restoration of paper, focusing on the physical and chemical properties of the material and its interactions with the surrounding environment.
The course covers the main treatments, the materials suitable for carrying out restoration work, and the methods for mounting works on paper.
Particular attention is paid to the causes of deterioration and the effects on the supports and graphic media, with the aim of investigating the durability and longevity of the materials used in the artistic production of works on paper.

Throughout the course, theory and practice are alternated to enable students to acquire scientific knowledge that they can apply through hands-on work and direct contact with the materials under study.
At the end of the course, students will be able to examine paper with a critical eye and to select the raw material to be used for their own artistic work, with an awareness of the characteristics that determine whether or not it will remain intact and durable over time.
Finally, visits to museums, libraries, archives and conservation workshops, as well as meetings with fellow conservators, enrich the teaching programme by enabling the sharing of different experiences and perspectives.

Course content
Introduction and presentation of the course
Fundamentals of conservation and restoration
History and manufacture of paper
Comparison of paper-making methods, materials and cultures
Fundamentals of paper chemistry
Paper deterioration
Graphic Media
Other Writing Materials (Papyrus, Parchment, etc.)
The book: structure and deterioration
Practical exercise on damage identification
Preventive conservation
Emergency management
Preventive conservation exercise
Materials and tools for restoration
Restoration work: treatments and procedures
Display set-ups and exhibitions, types of conservation mounting

Bibliography
CASETTI BRACH, C. (ed.), Gli itinerari della carta. Dall’Oriente all’Occidente: produzione e conservazione, Quaderni 1, Gangemi Editore, Rome 2010.
DE BELLA et al., Standard Special Technical Specifications, Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Rome 2005.
KOSEK, J. M., Conservation Mounting for Prints and Drawings. A Manual based on Current Practice at the British Museum, Archetype Publications Ltd.,, London 2004.
MANTOVANI, O., Degradazione del materiale cartaceo, in CFLR, Chimica e biologia applicate alla conservazione degli archivi, Ministry of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, Directorate-General for Archives, Rome 2002, pp. 297–320.