The course in Architectural Restoration within the Master’s Degree Programme in Building Engineering–Architecture at the University of Pavia aims primarily to introduce students to the principles and operational methods that govern the conservation of architectural heritage, both historical and contemporary. Through theoretical lectures and laboratory activities, students will be encouraged to engage continuously with the criteria that guide the conservation, enhancement, and transmission to the future of architectural works, while respecting their materiality, history, and cultural and social significance.
Indeed, architectural restoration has a deeply important ethical purpose in addition to its technical one: to protect historical continuity, ensuring that an architectural work can be understood, experienced, and handed down without betraying its historical, aesthetic, and cultural essence.
All the skills acquired during previous years of study—ranging from mathematics, geometry, physics and chemistry, structural mechanics and construction science, to architectural history and surveying, geotechnics, and architectural composition—will be essential for implementing proactive actions of conservation and enhancement of the cultural heritage we have inherited. There is no doubt that the historical period in which we live requires particular attention to the conservation, protection, and valorization of the built heritage, in order to regenerate it appropriately for contemporary needs without diminishing the meaning and value of what we have received as a gift.
As Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976), Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932, stated:
“[…] It is probably true, in general, that in the history of human thought the most fruitful developments often occur at the points of intersection between two different lines of thought. These lines of thought may have their roots in very different domains of human culture, in different epochs, in different cultural contexts, or in different religious traditions; therefore, if they do indeed meet, or if they are at least sufficiently related to one another to allow real interaction, then one may hope that new and interesting developments may result.”
The course in Architectural Restoration therefore aims to offer a transversal training capable of bringing together the various disciplines involved in a restoration project: history, architectural design and composition, construction science and technology, materials chemistry, building technology, physics, and the humanities.
For this reason, the course strongly recommends the proper acquisition and successful completion of all technical subjects included in the study plan, with particular reference to construction science and technology, which are fundamental for the correct development of a restoration project.
The course will draw on interdisciplinary expertise and experience, including contributions from international scholars, enabling students to learn and explore key issues related to the sustainability of cultural heritage.
Accordingly, the course seeks to introduce future engineers and architects to the diverse cultural and methodological paradigms that inform this discipline in different countries around the world. Historically, in fact, a Eurocentric perspective has often prevented us from observing with due attention what other cultures have wisely developed and implemented for the conservation and enhancement of their own heritage. Beginning with a comparative analysis of the history of restoration in an international context—particularly through the presentation of operational methods and completed projects—students will be invited to engage actively with different methodological perspectives, working from the outset on a restoration project in the historic centre of Pavia.
The course will also include seminars held in several languages—English, Italian, French, and Spanish—with the active participation of professors from foreign universities.
Keywords: Conservation of authenticity; Cultural protection and enhancement; Structural safeguarding; Material compatibility; Recognizability; Transmission of memory; Compatible reuse.
The objectives of the course are closely aligned with the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and with the report “Culture in the Localization of the SDGs: An Analysis of the Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR).”
Main theme of the course for the academic year 2026–2027:
The Episcopal Seminary of the Diocese of Pavia in the historic centre of the city.
The Seminary will also serve as the main venue for the course throughout its duration.
- Docente: OLIMPIA NIGLIO
- Docente: CAMILLO RICCI