Giovanni Rotondi
PFP4 – Conservation of metals, ceramics, glass, wax and organic materials, Master Degree course, Scuola di Alta Formazione e Studio “Opificio delle Pietre Dure”, Florence, Italy
In the summer of 2019, and in between my 3rd and the 4th year of OPD course, I took the opportunity to attend an internship abroad to improve my conservation skills and broaden my knowledge in some aspects of my studies.
I had the opportunity to spend three weeks at SVK dealing with different materials and activities; my main assignment was to start the cleaning treatments of a commemorative plaque (engraved, painted and gilt iron) from the Oscar Fredrik Church in Gothenburg. The last week I also had the opportunity to deal with a series of archaeological materials, ranging from excavated metal artefacts to waterlogged organic finds (wood and leather). I was also able to actively test the x-ray image equipment and techniques used at the SVK facility.
I found SVK to be a very well structured facility, with a wide set of specialized laboratories and equipment that enables it to deal with virtually any possible kind of conservation “challenge”. The whole staff has been very friendly and helpful both from the professional and personal point of view, making this experience very useful and fruitful.
