INTRODUCTION

From June 17th to July 12th 2002, eighteen students from the University of Pennsylvanias Graduate School of Fine Arts participated in the 2002 Summer Penn Conservation Studies in Rome. The course, entitled The Orto Botanico of Rome: A Methodological Approach to the Conservation of Historic Landscapes and Monuments, was co-sponsored by the University of Pennsylvanias Graduate Program in Historic Preservation (UPenn), the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), and the University of Rome, La Sapienza. Joining the Penn group in lectures and research were architecture students of La Sapienza.

The goal of the course was to introduce graduate students and practitioners to European conservation methodologies through a case study of the Orto Botanico, located on the slope of the Janiculum Hill in Rome. Topics addressed during lectures and site visits included the topo graphic history of Rome, Italian gardens history, and European conservation theories. During studio sessions, there were two projects occurring simultaneously. One group focused on the architectural and condition survey of Ferdinando Fugas Scala d'Acqua, located within the Orto Botanico. A second team of students concentrated on the overall garden.