Summer Art Restoration Programs in Italy

Messors Workshops - Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration in Italy:
Messors Workshops offers summer Art Conservation Workshops on Fresco and Fine Arts, based in the rich cultural and historical setting of Altamura, Gravina in Puglia and Matera in the regions of Puglia and Basilicata in Southern Italy. We are located in the province of Bari, 45 km / 27 miles south-west of Bari. The Frescoes are part of the rupestrian settlements (underground habitations) based in the Alta Murgia area in the Puglia region of Italy. Private collections provide paintings on Canvas.

Beyond the mere preservation of the rupestral settlements and local historical artworks, Messors’s ultimate goal is to revitalize and rehabilitate these sites so that they may once again be centres for social and cultural interaction. This has already begun at the restored Masseria Jesce, a historical site along the ancient Appian Way, where several cultural events and activities such as concerts and children's educational programs have been conducted since the recovery of the site.

Messors’s body of knowledge and expertise has been enriched by contributors such as art restorer Dr, Filip Petcu, Faculty of Arts, Department of Restoration, University of Timisoara (Romania), Dr. Giovanni Ragone, Geologist.

Messors is a series of educational workshops branched out from Sinergie-Servizi Per i Beni Culturali that was established in 1989 under the direction of Tonio Creanza (Project Coordinator) in conjunction with the City of Altamura and the regional government.  It’s mandate has been to preserve the cultural heritage of the Altamurgia region. At its inception the organization worked on the research and restoration of the Masseria Jesce Site, a rural rupestrian and archaeological site with frescoes dating from the 14th century. 

The organization formed a highly successful alliance with James Madison University in Virginia, which ran credited study programs. Throughout it’s existence the organization has also run open, non-credit programs for participants from around the world who are not affiliated with a university but wish to learn more about the areas cultural heritage and techniques of preservation.

The program is now working on the rupestrian settlements of Fornello and Carpentino, and with local private art collectors.

Fresco & Fine Arts Conservation and Restoration Program
Period: July 2 - 16, 2025; July 23 - August 6, 2025

The courses provide a practical focus, allowing students ample opportunity for participation in restoration technique, and are complemented by seminars in Art History, Iconography, Technical Analysis and Geomorphological Studies.

Participants will also review the completed and restored works from past projects: 17th-century wood statues, decorative paintings and stone reliefs, exterior and interior frescoes, and paintings in both private collections and that of the church.
The course includes a 2-day trip to Naples museums and Pompeii archeological site with lectures and visits.

Additionally: 

Cultural Landscape of Food - Shepherds & Food Culture
Food and Language of Landscape
- September 2-8, 2025

Our workshop home is located in the small southern town of Gravina in Puglia. The town, built of golden tufa stone, crops up over a thread of rupestrian dwellings and ravine that winds towards open wheat fields and the sounds of evening swallows.
With its ancient roots in the Peucetii culture and its position on the Appian way from Rome to the Mediterranean sea, Gravina is dense with history, archaeology and the arts. Emperor Frederick II chose the surrounding plateaus as his personal hunting grounds, referring to the area as “Grana dat et Vina”- meaning the land of wheat and wine.

An hour inland from the Adriatic coast and neighbour to the Unesco World Heritage site of Matera, Gravina has been ruled through history by the  Byzantines, Lombards, Normans, Swabians and North Africans and one of its native residents Vincenzo Maria Orsini, went on to become the Pope Benedict XIII.

Our private residence is in a 15th-century building in the historic town centre. The palazzo has retained some of its original features, however, it has been largely updated with modern amenities. Meals will be prepared in our kitchen and shared in the dining room, which leads to salons, bedrooms, bathrooms, and a balcony overlooking one of the narrow residential streets.

From our front door, walk to the piazza for a Peroni, and from the balcony, listen to the animated conversations that have inevitably turned to food. The region is home to seas of olive groves, almonds, durum wheat, Nero di Troia & Primitivo grapes and a foraging culture that brings wild oregano, fennel, and chicory to the local market. The town is a honeycomb of artisanal shops- cheese, focaccia, bread, cured meats, and osterias.

*Shared bedrooms and bathroom facilities.
**All amenities are available in town (pharmacy, grocery, stamps, medical, hygiene etc.)

WORKSHOP DATES
September 2 - 8, 2025


Cultural Landscape of Food. Shepherd and Food Culture

Anthropology of Food and Lifestyle: The Rhythms and the Connections between Food, Culture and Landscape

The venerated cuisine of the Mediterranean has been created and re-created through the course of history by geography, social customs, migration and the mythical and religious universe wrapped around "eating". The Mediterranean diet is inclusive of "lifestyle" which upholds traditional methods of farming and fishing and nurtures the practice of family meals, and celebration.

Through hands-on activities, cooking, excursions, discussions and lectures, our workshop celebrates and promotes the culture, ingredients, production, and cooking methods of the "diet" deeply rooted in its predominantly Greek and Roman origins.

The workshop is led by Tonio Creanza, the Founder and Director of Messors, a native of Puglia, along with his colleagues of local farmers, cheese makers, shepherds, historians, restauranteurs, etc.

Participants are involved in the “food journey” to learn and understand the rhythms and the connections expressed by food: the seasonality, the social tempo of a weekly structured diet; the pace dictated by yeast rising in bread dough, or the time it takes to make cheese from basic ingredients.

Messors aims to promote the cultural heritage through hands-on and immersive experiences, which have a positive impact on both the participant and the region.

In all the workshops offered, participants interact with local professionals and everyday members of the area to explore ways in which heritage and its conservation can have a substantial impact on communities and larger cultural and social issues.

Enjoy learning, accommodation and traditional food in our historical palazzo residence.
Explore the history and the art of rich cultural settings of Puglia and Basilicata in Southern Italy.
Earn hands-on experience of conservation procedures from professionals.
Experiece a multicultural learning and enriching environment.