Eleonora Gioventù

Eleonora Gioventù
Period: 2014-2015
Profession: Restorer Born in Genoa in 1986, Eleonora Gioventù graduated in 2009 in restoration and conservation of cultural heritage from the Scuola Superiore di Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. She has specialized in the restoration and conservation of stone sculpture, in particular using the bio-restoration method. She has taken part in various conferences, including the 12 th International Congress on the Deterioration and Conservation of Stone (New York, 2012). She teaches in restoration and heritage conservation laboratories at university, as well as in an international project with the Cambodian government. Among her major restoration projects are the sculptures in the Porta Magna and side doors of the Basilica di San Petronio in Bologna by Jacopo della Quercia (1425), the sculptures by Silvio Cosini, a pupil of Michelangelo, in the Cappelle Medicee in Florence, and several sculptures in the monumental cemeteries of Milan, Genoa and Florence. At Villa Medici, Eleonora Gioventù is leading a project to develop and enrich research into innovative bio-cleaning and bio-restoration methods, with a particular focus on stone objects and wall paintings. Bio-restoration is a particularly environmentally-friendly technique, involving the use of specially selected micro-organisms (bacteria) for the selective removal of undesirable substances from art objects. Research is carried out using laboratory tests or directly on works of art, which can then be restored using this technique.