Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Zander’s report on the 1964-1979 restoration of historical monuments in Iran is now available in Persian.
In 1964, a team of Italian restorers in collaboration with the Iranian National Organization for Conservation of Historical Monuments embarked on a program for restoration of historical monuments in Iran which lasted until 1979.
From 1964 to 1972, work at the archaeological site of Persepolis was entrusted to the Italian Institute of the Middle and Far East (ISMEO). Effort was initially concentrated on the gate of All Nations, the halls of Tachara, Hadish, Apadana and the Hall of 100 Columns, as well as the rock-cut tomb of Artexerxes III.
During the same period excavations and restorations were carried out in the necropolis of Naqsh-e Rustam, 12km northwest of Persepolis, at Pasargadae in Pasargad County and Dorudzan in Marvdasht County, Fars Province.
The initiative was in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Arts and the Archaeological Department of Iran.
Italian architectural conservator Professor Giuseppe Zander was the head of the projects. He set the guidelines for the restoration work and insisted on accuracy in the archaeological study, prevention of further decay and securing evidence in the highly sensitive undertaking.
All the material and restoration works were documented by Zander in ‘Restoration Project of Historical Documents in Iran’, a report-cum-memoir published in 1968, Honaronline reported.
Author and translator Asghar Karimi rendered the French report in Persian 16 years ago. His translation has recently been published by the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, affiliated to Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
The Persian edition of the report has a foreword written by late architect and restorer Baqer Ayatollahzadeh-Shirazi (1936-2007), associate member of Iranian Academy of Arts, pioneer of scientific restoration in Iran and one of the founders of ICHHTO.
Threat From Urbanization
Attesting the importance of the restoration tasks by the Italian team, Shirazi was enthusiastic about releasing the Persian translation of Zander’s report.“The Iranian National Organization for Conservation of Historical Monuments was formed in 1960’s to carry out restorations scientifically at a time when explosive urbanization was threatening the historical fabric of the country. To acquire technology for scientific restoration of monuments and to train a new generation of Iranian experts in the field, the organization started cooperation with ISMEO among its other measures,” says the foreword.
Shirazi made a point to mention the valuable contributions by Italian scholar of oriental cultures Giuseppe Tucci (1894-1984) who organized the pioneering archaeological digs in Persepolis. He also mentions Italian architect Eugenio Galdieri (1925-2010) as a true researcher who strived to promote Iran’s Islamic architecture across the world. “The Iran-Italy joint project provided a basis for advanced scientific research on history of art and architecture in Iran,” the foreword adds.
