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FCG Internacional Restoration and Conservation 2008: LANFRANCO SECCO SUARDO

 “Due to his vital commitment to the restoration and conservation of artistic heritage through the “Giovanni Secco Suardo Association”, dedicated to the care and protection of cultural artefacts. He was the creator and driving force behind many Italian and international projects on the subject of restoration and conservation, especially the history, lexicon and training of the restorer-conserver profession.

 He has been involved in the setting up of the Historical Archives of Italian and European Restorers, in which he managed to get six countries to participate. He is also responsible for projects related to the care and conservation of heritage in developing countries.

We can also highlight that most of what is nowadays understood in Europe as the conservation and restoration of artistic and cultural heritage is due to his initiatives and work.” According to the Jury for the FCG International Award for Restoration and Conservation that met in Valladolid, Spain (July 7^th, 2008), Chaired by: Dr. Pilar Roig Picazo, Director of the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Objects at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, and made up by the following members: Mr. Javier Aguado Sobrino, Managing Director of the Banco Santander Foundation, Dr. Salvador Andrés Ordax, History of Art Professor at the University of Valladolid; Mr. Luis Miguel de Dios Muñoz, Regional Director of RNE [Spanish National Radio] in Castilla Leon, Mr. Ubaldo Sedano Espín, Director of Restoration at the Thyssen Museum; Mr. Enrique Ybarra e Ybarra, President of the Vocento Foundation.

LANFRANCO SECCO SUARDO - Biography

 Born in Rome on 18th December 1953, Lanfranco Secco Suardo completed his artistic studies in the Liceo Statale and started working as a photo-journalist and filmmaker (contemporary art, architecture, reports). These activities allowed him to live and work in many countries in Northern Europe, Africa, in Oceania as well as in North and South America, where he simultaneously deepened in his thematic study of anthropology and the conservation and restoration of cultural objects. He has produced documentaries and films and has also directed several documentaries for which he has received important international awards.

Since the end of the 80s, he completely dedicated his attention to restoration and moved to his family residence in Lurano, in Bérgamo province, where Giovanni Secco Suardo, a highly significant figure in Italian and international restoration, lived and worked in the 19^th century.

In 1991 he set up the “Giovanni Secco Suardo Association”, dedicated to the study, conservation and restoration of cultural objects. He is currently president of the Association.

Lanfranco Secco Suardo has always been involved in “battles” to save and protect cultural and historical heritage. From his area of work he has encouraged the donation of paintings to the Carrara de Bérgamo Academy and has created a registry of materials so that experts and students can research the historical archives of Lurano Castle, within which documentation has been kept since the XIII century.

He is a member of the International Council of Museums (I.C.O.M.), a member of the Scientific Committee of the Institute to preserve the “Mnesmosyne” Historical Heritage and is a scientific collaborator of the International Historical Heritage Review Restoration and Rehabilitation.  

He is responsible for protecting national and international cultural artefacts through their restoration and conservation. He is also especially involved in the history of conservation and restoration.  Among his activities is that of Conserver-Restorer, training and education and the maintenance of historical-architectural heritage.

Publications:

-          Archivio Storico nazionale e Banca Dati dei Restauratori Italiani: genesi e sviluppi di un progetto di ricerca interinstituzionale in Il corpo dello stile. Cultura e lettura del restauro nelle esperienze contemporanee, Associazione Giovanni Secco Suardo – De Luca Editori d’Arte, 2005

-          Tai del Convengo Internazionale di studi carte, risoluzioni e documenti per la conservazione ed il  restauro, Siena 14-15 marzo 2003

-          Il restauro dei dipinti nel secolo Ottocento. Giuseppe Uberto Valentis e il metodo Pettenkoffer, Forum Editrice Universitaria Udinese, 2002.