Palazzo Lancellotti ai Coronari is situated along Via dei Coronari in the center of Rome. The palace houses a large collection of antique works of art, most of which are statues. Many of these were found at excavations in and around Rome and their missing parts were reconstructed during the Baroque period and later.
Statues and reliefs in the open courtyard were the object of the present didactic research and conservation project. Students at the Institute of Conservation at Gothenburg University participated during three academic periods. The conservation program was the basis for research and the results available as conservation reports as the project proceeded. One principle was to study the relative stratigraphies of material used for earlier restorations and reconstructions, another to use light conservation methods and to test ancient and traditional methods, as far as possible excluding modern chemicals. The didactic conservation project was based at the Swedish Institute in Rome and funded by Swedish Foundations. It was performed in collaboration with the present owner of the palace, Principe Pietro Lancellotti. In charge of conservation and restoration were conservators Silvia Gambardella and Alessandro Danesi (DART). Project director and responsible for the academic courses was Agneta Freccero. Analyses of sampled materials were made at CNR/ICVBC in Florence and Rome.
The research project was conducted in 2003-2006. It started as a didactic conservation and research project in the loggia. It was later decided to publish the entire collection in collaboration with Professor Marcello Barbanera and doctoral students at Università La Sapienza di Roma. Many other professionals were involved in this interdisciplinary, international project, either with research or in the scientific committee. The project was approved by the Soprintendenza per i Beni culturali di Roma. See Publications.
