Conservation
The Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia are two extraordinary artistic complexes which were destined to intertwine over the course of history, both preserved with great care under the aegis of the same Family through their constant and scrupulous protection, which the Foundation has continued with major achievements: the opening of the Laboratori Torlonia for the study and restoration of the more than 600 Torlonia marble items and the innovative conservation programme of Villa Albani Torlonia.
The works of the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia have been subject to constant and scrupulous conservation under the aegis of the Family, which employs a select group of trusted technicians and restorers. Since its constitution, the Fondazione Torlonia has pursued this commitment and has also made numerous other important achievements.
Contemporary restoration offers a moment of insight in which new light is cast on the history of the works. While in years gone by the interventions aimed to recreate the entirety of the sculpture, reconstructing the missing or deteriorated parts, today they also have a cognitive value: for each work a book is compiled with restoration data and drawings, telling the story of its conservation, complete with photographic and graphic documentation, the state of conservation, the techniques and the constitutive materials adopted. On the basis of the status of the marble, various kinds of cleaning methods are used, alternating between mechanical, physical and chemical.
Contemporary restoration offers a moment of insight in which new light is cast on the history of the works. While in years gone by the interventions aimed to recreate the entirety of the sculpture, reconstructing the missing or deteriorated parts, today they also have a cognitive value: for each work a book is compiled with restoration data and drawings, telling the story of its conservation, complete with photographic and graphic documentation, the state of conservation, the techniques and the constitutive materials adopted. On the basis of the status of the marble, various kinds of cleaning methods are used, alternating between mechanical, physical and chemical.
Through its conservation programme, the Fondazione Torlonia coordinates the restoration projects concerning the monumental architectural complex of Villa Albani Torlonia with the works of the ancient and medieval collections and the historical gardens. An ever-evolving ‘open air’ workshop where studies and restoration projects are promoted, split into lots for functional purposes, of which in the breadth of the interventions undertaken reflects the eclectic nature of the Collection.