Atelier del Restauro is a joint venture between three conservators: Maria Grazia Zenzani and Valentina Lupo, who are painting conservators, and Simon Dimech, who is specialised in the conservation of books and paper.
Their love and respect for all art is married to a scientific and ethical approach towards conservation. This means that at Atelier del Restauro, only the highest quality conservation grade materials are used and all efforts are made to return a piece to its original state without altering it, while ensuring that it is well protected in order to limit future damage.
The team, using its fully equipped laboratory in Mosta as a base, has been working together since 2012 and has already been entrusted with a number of important projects. These include the wall painted ceiling of the sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Mellieħa, the polychrome, wooden statue of St Helen at the Birkirkara Parish, as well as watercolours by Edward Lear and Amedeo Preziosi and various processi inquisitoriali from the inquisitor’s archives in Mdina.
Only the highest quality conservation grade materials are used
In addition, Atelier del Restauro has also performed conservation interventions on many works of art belonging to private collectors especially paintings by Francesco Zahra, Stefano Erardi and Girolamo Gianni.
Before embarking on a new project, the conservators at Atelier del Restauro first gather all the relevant information about the piece, ranging from its composition and manufacturing process to previous restoration interventions and surrounding environmental conditions. Constant collaboration with both local and foreign professionals, including conservation scientists, radiographers and art historians, is essential.
The information gathering process is currently underway for Atelier del Restauro’s next big project: the conservation of the altar mural of Our Lady of Mellieħa, located in the sanctuary that bears the same name.
This project, which is being undertaken in partnership with the Istituto per la Conservazione e la Valorizzazione dei Beni Culturali of Florence, promises to be one of the most challenging yet due to the fact that the mural is painted directly on rock and is in an advanced state of deterioration. The team is raring to go and their ultimate goal is, as always, to conserve art in order to give a future to the past.