Istituto per l'Arte e il Restauro

TRAINING OFFER

Two-year Courses

As a formative institution accredited by the Regione Toscana, our Institute offers two different typologies of professional restoration courses:
• Biennial introductory courses (Qualified Technician)
• Annual specializing courses (Expert Technician)
The award of the qualification of Collaborator Restorer, according to the art. 182 of the Italian Code of Cultural Heritage, is granted to candidates who diligently attend and satisfactorily complete the three year courses format.

For the forthcoming academic year 2012-13 the Institute offers the following professional training courses.
1. Restoration of frescoes
2. Restoration of paintings
3. Restoration of ceramic and stone artefacts
Applicants can apply for a direct admission at the second year of the course or at the specialization year which are expected to start within October 2012.

Introduction: the new structure of the Institute professional training courses
In the recent past time Italy introduced many new rules and regulations concerning the restoration sector, as for example the restorer’s list, the introduction of the didactic credits, the economic support at the external practical internships and the five year degree courses.
Due to these changes and due to the filing of the Institute application for the university five year courses accreditation, our Institute, decided to promote a new different structure of its professional training restoration courses.
In this sense, starting from the academic year 2012-2013 the biennial courses and the annual specialization course will equip students with a perfect balance of academic and vocational skills with a practical and experienced approach strongly related to the organization of a series of practical sessions in laboratories, external sites and in particular of individual and collective practical restoration internships. Some theoretical sessions will be reduced or cancelled or replaced with meetings, seminars, long distance sessions, researches, individual sessions.
This new educational training structure has been designed with the aim to create an educational policy at the highest European level ensuring the best results in terms of practical didactic activities made in laboratory, restoration sites or internships. All these practical activities will cover a percentage from the 70% to the 82% of the total number of hours, while only the18% will be reserved to the theoretical sessions.

The training structure
The Institute biennial courses will start in the month of October and finish in the month of June of the following year.
The first year is delivered through a series of tutorials and sessions designed to satisfy all single individual needs and mostly based on practical laboratory or site activities, without any external restoration internship.
The second year is delivered through a reduced number of theoretical sessions which will be replaced with practical sessions and with a collective practical internship scheduled in the month of May (250 hours with an Institute contribution to the student expenses). The first half of the month of June will be reserved to studies, researches and close examinations while the second half will be used for the final exams of Qualified Technician.

The specialization, optional year, doesn’t include any theoretical session but only seminars, workshops and technical meetings. The 90% of the sessions will be delivered through practical works in laboratory, restoration and practical internship sessions, new topics and autonomous restoration works or restoration practical internships sessions. The specialization internship sessions will be individual and will be made in an external previously selected sector firms (400 hours with an Institute contribution). It will be scheduled in the months of March, April and May. The first half of the month of June will be reserved to studies, researches and close examinations while the second half will be used for the final exams of Expert Technician.

The total number of hours included in the study plan (min 810-max 900 hours for each year) includes: theoretical and methodological sessions, laboratory sessions, practical training, guided visit at sector enterprises, conferences and technical meetings, seminars, research and documentation, internal and external practical internship sessions, organisation of restoration sites, collective or individual practical internships or activities, intermediate checking and evaluation, orienteering and job placement activities.

All the educational trainings and restoration practical activities delivered in the premises of Florence are carried out on original cultural heritage artefacts and are organised under the didactic and professional supervision of the sector lecturers on the respect of the competent Superintendence guidelines.

Acknowledgement of the courses and of the study titles
According to the Regional Law n. 845 of 21st 12 1978, Regione Toscana organised the regional vocational training by means of a series of rules and regulations based on the European regulations and on the agreements with the Italian state. Our Institute is part of the Regional training system which recognised its courses from 1980 (Act n. 1881 of 12th.06.1980 and subsequent until the current Act no. 2095 of the 23rd June 2010, valid for all the courses which will start in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012). The acknowledgements were granted by the Province of Florence due to the art. 17 comma 1 lett.b of the L.R. 32/2002 The Institute is accredited by the Regione Toscana under Law nr. 1722 of the 25th day of the month of March 2003. Accreditation code nr. 545.
The professional qualification, as issued by a Regional institution, officially delegated by the Italian State due to the National Law no. 845 of 21st 12 1978, is valid on the whole National territory.
The title is also valid on the European countries thanks to the validation general system adopted with the European acts (89/48/CEE and 92/51/CEE), changed by the act 2001/19/CE.
For more detailed information please visit the website: http://ec.europa.eu

Applicants who hasn’t yet filed the admission request can contact for more detailed information, the Institute General Direction at the following email address Direzione Generale dell’Istituto.