The Stone Research, Conservation, and Restoration Camp is a unique experience that will take place from September 23 to 30, in Țara Făgărașului, Southern Transylnvaina. Together with stone preservation expert Dr. Sidonia Olea volunteers will work on stone conservation and restoration at the Jewish Cemetery in Făgăraș and in several Christian Orthodox cemeteries in the region. The aim of the Stone Restoration Camp is to form a team dedicated to intervention, rescue, and maintenance of stone monuments and heritage in Tara Fagarasului.
Conserving and restoring funeral monuments is aimed at safeguarding as well as avoiding their loss. Degradation is a phenomenon that cannot be controlled and which in time affects funeral monuments. It is the obligation of restorers to intervene in time to save such monuments from destruction. Often, emergency interventions are needed in graveyards, given the advanced state of degradation of many funeral monuments.
Coordinated by Dr. Olea and heritage activists Dr. Stefan Cibian, this camp is open to all interested in contributing to the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage. The event will take place in person and will offer participants the opportunity to engage in a variety of practical restoration activities and learn from experts in the field.
To attend, register here.
INSTRUCTORS
Dr. Sidonia Olea
An online Zoom lecture in the Community Scholar Program, by architecture historian Dr. Samuel Gruber, an expert on synagogue architecture worldwide and president of the International Survey of Jewish Monuments.
19-20:00 CET
In Piedmont, Italy the Jewish community built many synagogues over a period of four centuries. The earliest Ghetto synagogues are usually unmarked on the street and occupy residential-type buildings with sanctuaries located on upper floors for greater security and better lighting. Nondescript on the exterior, the sanctuaries are ornately decorated within with richly carved Baroque and Rococo arks and tevahs, and gilded and painted walls and ceiling. The Piedmontese synagogues at Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Carmagnola, Casale Monferato, Cherasco, Cuneo, Ivrea, Mondovi, and Saluzzo, survive as largely unknown architectural treasures, but they are gradually being restored and opened ot the public.
In this talk, lavishly illustrated with his photos, Dr. Samuel Gruber examines some of the most dazzling synagogues in Europe and relates them to the artistic and religious movements of the time.
An expert colloquium RESTORATION, CARE AND DOCUMENTATION: Jewish cemeteries in the Czech Republic, held with the support of ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative.
The colloquium will focus on Jewish cemeteries in the Czech Republic, and their protection, restoration, care, documentation and research methodology.
The conference aims “to foster debate on the strategies applied by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the field of Jewish cemetery preservation, as well as the research methods used by specialists and examples of the preservation of Jewish cemeteries from the perspective of their signification as cultural heritage of living communities.”
The conference is supported by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, the Alba Iulia Jewish Community, Bar Ilan University, and Alba County Council, among others.
It is seen as a follow up to several other conferences, including European Jewish Cemeteries: An Interdisciplinary Conference, co-organized by JHE in Vilnius, 2015 and Urban Jewish Heritage: Presence and Absence, Kraków, 2018; as well as published research such as Rudolf Klein’s Metropolitan Jewish Cemeteries of the 19th and 20th Centuries in Central and Eastern Europe: A Comparative Study, 2018; and projects devoted such as those by the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, initiated in 2015.
The Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta is hosting An Evening of Jewish History in Malta on October 22, 2024, at the Aula Prima Hall, University of Malta, Valletta Campus. The event is moderated by Mr. John Mallia, Broadcaster and TV Producer, and features two talks, one by Prof. William Zammit on his book “Slavery, Treason and Blood,” which details the 1749 plot by Muslim slaves to assassinate Grandmaster Manuel Pinto de Fonseca, foiled by the Jewish proselyte Joseph Cohen.
The second one, by Prof. Conrad Thake, will explore the history of Malta’s three Jewish cemeteries: the Kalkara cemetery for Jewish slaves, Ta’ Braxia Cemetery, and the modern Marsa cemetery. He will discuss the cemeteries’ origins, burial practices, and their artistic and architectural significance. The event starts at 6 PM, followed by a light reception. Attendance is by invitation only, which can be requested by filling out the form available here.
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