With only a four minute walk to the ICCROM building, I was not expecting much from my stroll to work. I basically make a left on the Via di Salumi (the street of salami “makers”) and right onto Via di Vascellari which turns into Via San Michele, the street that ICCROM is on.
However, I underestimated the complete charm of Rome no matter how short the distance. All along the Via di Vascellari are artisan workshops and studios. There is a leather worker, a wood worker, a glass blower, a dress maker, a furniture maker, a Zen painting studio, and that’s all I can remember/have noticed so far, I am sure there is more. At siesta time or around lunch, when I walk back to eat at the apartment, those shops close but cafes and small restaurants are bustling with customers, mostly locals. At night the street is transformed once again by a number of nightclubs, bars, and large fancy restaurants that are indescribably romantic.
At the end of this fascinating street is the Piazza Santa Cecilia where the church of Saint Cecilia is located. The church was founded in the fourth century but was renovated in the Baroque period. There is a lovely garden cloister at the front entrance and parents frequently take children there to play. The history of the place is pretty amazing and the very courageous Roman woman to whom it is dedicated is one of the most venerated saints.
Then I get to ICCROM, a nondescript government building with a single flag and plaque marking its presence. Inside is the same, nothing glitzy or awe-inspiring in the architecture but if one looks on the walls one realizes the importance of ICCROM. The entire place is plastered with posters proclaiming how this organization is working to protect cultural heritage around the world. There are projects saving stone monuments in Africa, wooden structures in Korea, and mosaics in the Middle East just to name a few. As an art historian, seeing so much overwhelming support for visual culture is very inspiring.
But to the specifics of what I am doing there…I work with Maria Mata Caravaca in the archives and documentation center. I am there to help with the digitization and cataloguing of slides for the ICCROM online database. Maria is from Spain but lives here with her husband and two kids. Interesting enough, she has a daughter named Sofia and her husband is an architect! She is very sweet, quite and belongs in a library. I do not consider myself to have those qualities so I am sure my loud Americaness is a real change to the documentation center.
Perks of my position, other than just helping a great cause, have turned out to be greater than expected. On a somewhat just fun note, I have a badge that looks very official and gets me in and out of the building. But on a more serious note, there is a class going on at ICCROM right now that I can attend whenever I want. It is called “First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis”. Each day is a different course or practicum on preservation/recovery in times of turmoil. There are 24 selected participants or “students” from Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the Australian military, Nigeria, basically places where these skills are highly valued. I have so far attended two sessions: one on proper documentation and labeling of objects and the other on agents of deterioration. Each class is taught by a different expert and the class goes on till the end of October so I am sure to learn a lot! If you are interested check out the website and see the great things being done to save our precious history.
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