The Yale institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage is pleased to host Roberto Nardi (Director, Centro di Conservazione Archeologica, Rome, Italy) for a talk on “The Prehistoric Giants of Mont’e Prama - from stone fragments to new “brand” of Sardinia” as part of the Dialogues in Heritage Science series.
During an archaeological excavation in the early 1970s in central Sardinia, Italy, more than 5000 stone fragments from more than 30 gigantic statues and towers were found. The mysterious giants can be traced back to an undefined period, from the 9th and the 8th century BC. The Mont’e Prama Conservation Program, directed by the CCA, has been a cultural, technical, and financial challenge that allowed to return a unique, forgotten page of history to the knowledge of specialists and the wider public, becoming now even a brand for the island. In 2015 The Mont’e Prama conservation project received the prestigious Europa Nostra Public Choice Award.
Roberto Nardi received a degree in archaeology from the University of Rome and graduated in conservation of archaeological materials at the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro, Rome. In 1982 he founded the Centro di Conservazione Archeologica (CCA). Roberto has directed more than 50 projects and training courses in 14 countries, including the Arch of Septimus Severus and the Temple of Vespasian in the Roman Forum, the Atrium of the Capitoline Museum in Rome (Keck Award 2014) and the mosaic of the Transfiguration in the Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai. He is President of the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics (ICCM).