PROCULTHER-NET Project. Technical Bulletin N. 3, July 2024

Building on the foundations laid by PROCULTHER-NET, this third edition of the Technical Bulletins offers cultural heritage and disaster risk managers a new selection of articles on the protection of cultural heritage from the effects of disasters.

The issue opens with two articles dedicated to PREVENTION. The SiLK Guidelines, a German online tool, is aimed in particular at small and medium-sized cultural organisations. Based on lessons learned from past disasters, this self-assessment tool contributes to raising awareness of the risks and hazards that threaten cultural heritage.

A concrete application of risk assessment tools and awareness-raising communication is offered by the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Bologna, which has implemented the SIRIUS project. Using the city of Ravenna as a case study, it assessed the territorial risks to the local cultural heritage and sought to develop a “risk culture” among the general public, with a focus on young people.

The PREPAREDNESS section brings forward several examples of efficient risk management and organisational strategies. The Hungarian National Museum presents an overview of the pilot projects it has launched in cultural heritage protection, ranging from establishing an extensive national and international network to disaster risk management planning. These measures are echoed by the holistic risk management plan developed by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which is in charge of five cultural institutions in Germany. Led by a Task Force Risk Management, it aims to enhance emergency planning across organisations, adapting to their specificities and collections.

Bringing this cooperation model to another scale, the German Preparedness Networks for the Protection of Cultural Property promotes the creation of local or regional networks of cultural institutions and civil protection agencies. Together, they pool resources and equipment and organize inter-institutional and cross-sectoral training, thus building capacities at a local level.

The RESPONSE section presents a series of articles on fire and its impact on movable and immovable heritage, a few months after the devastating example of the Borsen fire in Copenhagen. An article co-authored by Blue Shield France and the Slovak Mining Archives tells the story of the fire in Banská Štiavnica and the emergency measures taken to evacuate the archives. It illustrates cross-sectoral and international cooperation.

Another example of dealing with a fire in a historical building is provided by the Territorial and Central Cell of the Unit for Risk Management and Emergencies in Cultural Heritage of the Junta Castilla y León (UGRECYL), which examines the case of the fire in the Trinity Church in Segovia in 2023, focusing on the event and the response intervention.

As a direct follow-up to the previous article, the RECOVERY section includes a complementary contribution from the Conservation and Restoration Centre of the Junta de Castilla y León, which presents the effects of the fire on three paintings recovered from the church and the following restoration process.

Moving on from movable to immovable heritage, an article from the Italian Ministry of Culture opens the FOCUS ON section and tackles the vast subject of debris management in a cultural heritage setting. In particular, it explores the classification and methodologies set up in Italy to sort and intervene in different types of debris. The article is divided into two parts: in this issue, it focuses on regulatory provisions and operational guidelines, while in the next issue a second contribution will complete the picture with some examples from the earthquake that hit after Central Italy in 2016.

The other contribution looks at virtual reality. Based on the results of the PROCULTHER-NET project, this article addresses the issue of better integration of cultural heritage in virtual reality tools and their application in sectors such as documentation, planning, training and restoration.