The PhD Program of National Interest in Cultural Heritage brings together individuals and expertise from various academic disciplines, united by a shared focus on history, preservation, enhancement, and protection of cultural heritage.
The Program is structured in five curricula:
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Art, Archaeology, History, Restoration
- History and Conservation of Built Heritage
- Enhancement of Cultural and Environmental Heritage
- New Media for Communication and Enhancement of Artistic Heritage
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Publishing and Innovation: Contents, Processes, Technologies
The Program involves the participation of several universities (with Rome “Tor Vergata” as the administrative headquarters), Academies of Fine Arts (Rome, Florence, Macerata, Lecce, and Catania), and the ISIA Roma Design - Higher Institute for Artistic Industries, along with cultural and research institutes such as the MAXXI Foundation - Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo - and the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA). The innovate approach of having universities and Higher Education Institutions in Art, Music and Dance (AFAM) collaborate in the same doctoral educational project opens up new perspectives to develop ideas resulting from a broad interaction between the material and critical levels of research in the field of cultural heritage. The goal is to bring together the expertise of each of these institutions in the artistic, archaeological, historical, architectural, conservation and restoration, and new media fields.
The co-participation of universities and AFAM institutions provides doctoral students access to a more diverse set of shared research and study methodologies. Moreover, it should be emphasized that the participation of academics from the academies involved with the Fine Arts and their historically-grounded expertise in the productive and creative process of artworks provide students with the unique opportunity to enhance the understanding and study of art and works of art as cultural products and means of social communication.
The PhD Program aims to enhance a wide set of methodological approaches in the study of cultural heritage in keeping with the Faro Convention principles and criteria and UNESCO's guidelines, and, notably, to contribute to Mission 1 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP): Digitization, Innovation, Competitiveness, Culture, and Tourism.
The three-year program is intended to promote advanced academic training of students, for some of whom an academic career
may be the end goal, but also for those who desire to become highly qualified professionals capable of carrying out research and working in the management of public and private institutions, including international ones.
Doctoral researchers in Cultural Heritage will be primarily employed by the public administration, cultural institutions, and private cultural foundations, though a certain percentage will pursue their careers in the academia. The Program also aims to reduce the number of PhD scholars leaving the country owing to poor career prospects, effectively contrasting the “brain drain” phenomenon, i.e. the emigration of skilled human resources.
As part of the Doctorate of National Interest in Cultural Heritage coordinated by the Doctoral School of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, a curriculum, “PUBLISHING AND INNOVATION: CONTENTS, PROCESSES, TECHNOLOGIES,” is planned for this year (39th cycle).
The objective of this curriculum is to train researchers and highly qualified professionals capable of devising, developing and managing project ideas for an innovative, participatory, inclusive approach to publishing products, including to encourage and govern their digital transition.
Privileged themes in the identification of applied research paths are those related to innovation in products and in the organizational and working methods specific to publishing activity and its supply chain (including those related to the production of school, university and professional publishing).
ART, ARCHEOLOGY, HISTORY, RESTORATION
The curriculum in “ART, ARCHEOLOGY, HISTORY, RESTORATION” brings together historians, art historians, restoration historians, and archaeologists. The approach to art-historical disciplines is mostly focused on the study of the formal qualities and meaning of artistic materials as well as the understanding of artworks as “visual documents” for historical investigation, with particular reference to the Early Modern and Contemporary periods. By virtue of the specific expertise in the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage of the participating institutions (universities and AFAM), the research program places emphasis on the technical and conservation aspects of both artworks and library materials, manuscripts, photographs, and digital media.
The approach to archaeological disciplines is primarily characterized by the application of innovative technologies in the management and research of archaeological heritage and epigraphic documentary material. Regarding the ancient history field, particular attention is given to the experimentation of technologies aimed at the acquisition and 3D modeling of casts of Greek and Latin epigraphs.
The participation of Fine Arts Academies in the PhD Program allows for special focus on the material and technological aspects of artifacts and artworks, with particular reference to painting and graphic techniques (such as etching, engraving, etc.).
The aim of this curriculum is to train professionals in research, management, conservation, and protection within the field of archaeological and art-historical heritage in Italian and foreign public and private institutions (e.g., local authorities, cultural and/or research institutes, soprintendenze and central institutes of the MiC, cooperatives, foundations, museums, public administrations, Italian and foreign research centers, as well as companies).
The teaching activities regarding the present curriculum include: seminars, lectures, and lab activities; particular emphasis is placed on study and research initiatives focusing on the theoretical aspects of the various disciplines involved, the analysis and interpretation of sources, as well as methods and procedures for conducting field research.
EDUCATIONAL OFFER A.A.
Educational offer for the curriculum in “ART, ARCHEOLOGY, HISTORY, RESTORATION”
EDUCATIONAL OFFER ARCHIVE
Under construction
OPEN ACCESS DISSERTATIONS’ COLLECTION
Under construction
Responsible: Cecilia Vicentini
REPRESENTED ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES
L-ART/02
L-ANT/04
L-ANT/10
M-STO/02
L-ANT/07
M-FIL/06
L-ANT/01
M-STO/09
REPRESENTED AFAM DISCIPLINARY ARTISTIC SECTORS
ABA V02
HISTORY AND CONSERVATION OF BUILT HERITAGE
The participation in the “HISTORY AND CONSERVATION OF BUILT HERITAGE” PhD curriculum of professors from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, specialized in the disciplinary fields of Engineering and Architecture, allows for research on cultural built heritage.
The topics of doctoral research include: digital strategies and platforms for the enhancement of architects’ and engineers’ archives, as well as their cultural heritage, to be developed in collaboration with the involved institutions (notably the MAXXI); strategies for improving seismic safety of building of cultural interest (from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth century, including bridges, churches, and villages) and culturally significant built heritage (museums, monuments, and works of art); methods of architectural and structural restoration of monument of cultural heritage aimed at improving their attractiveness, safety, and accessibility of places; application of history of construction and structural engineering to the creation of new touristic and cultural experiences related to Made in Italy, outside the mainstream circuits.
The objective of this curriculum is to train professionals oriented towards the advanced practice of knowledge, enhancement, maintenance, and securing of the cultural heritage of buildings et sim. with programs working synergistically with business and public administration offices, particularly in the area of cultural heritage, responding to their need for innovation, including digital innovation, and providing qualified professionals to be employed in the University or in other institutes and research centers, specializing in the field of historical-constructive-architectural research on culturally significant heritage of buildings: a pursuit that necessarily encompasses both architecture and engineering. The program will also have the goal of providing for public administration trained professionals who, thanks to their high specialization in STEM subjects, will be capable of enhancing the effectiveness of work in the area of strategic planning for cultural heritage; as well as trained professionals with expertise in digital transition, capable of increasing the effectiveness of management and development of the country’s vast cultural heritage, working in cooperation with the most qualified institutions in this field.
The curriculum’s rich and diverse educational program encompasses seminars, frontal lectures, lab activities, and hands-on study and research initiatives, focusing on the theoretical aspects of various relevant disciplines, as well as analysis and interpretation of sources, along with an understanding of methodology and procedures for field research.
EDUCATIONAL OFFER A.A.
Educational offer for the curriculum in “HISTORY AND CONSERVATION OF BUILT HERITAGE”
EDUCATIONAL OFFER ARCHIVE
Under construction
OPEN ACCESS DISSERTATIONS’ COLLECTION
Under construction
Responsible: Tullia Iori
REPRESENTED ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES
ICAR/08
ICAR/10
ICAR/18
ICAR/09
ENHANCEMENT OF CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HERITAGE
The curriculum in “ENHANCEMENT OF CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HERITAGE”, offered as part of the interdisciplinary focus of the present of this PhD Program, originates from the consideration of cultural heritage in terms of landscape and environment (high-profile skills in this field are present both at ISIA in Rome and in the Department of Geography at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”), and also as an identity representation, in both cases of anthropic construction of which cultural heritage is an integral part.
Cultural heritage’s enhancement and protection are connected to various research areas that encompass both analysis and intervention, including each aspect that represents the result of the interrelation between human beings and the natural environment over time.
The curriculum's focus include: Geography (spatial correlations, how cultural heritage is presented and interacted with, and landscape transformation), Geopolitics (risk areas, constructions of identity and societal representations), Cultural and Environmental Heritage Law (protection, evolution of the legal nature of cultural and environmental heritage), International Relations, Design (social engagement design, public-benefit communication, design and execution of circular supply chains, design crafting hypothetical scenarios).
Doctoral students shall demonstrate the ability to read the various components as well as play an active role in various opportunities presented by their individual programs, both within the program itself and in their external activities in the community. To this end, they shall learn quantitative analysis tools, as well as bibliographic and archival research methodologies and shall be able to construct cartographic and discursive representations as well as to plan field intervention projects.
In this context, the study and analysis of the legal perspective for the protection of cultural and environmental heritage will also be considered. Accordingly, the collaborations with jurists from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, having expertise in the field both at an International and National level, is relevant.
The aim of this curriculum is to train professionals to work in territorial government bodies such as the State, the Regions, Metropolitan cities and Municipalities, research institutes, consultancy firms for territorial organization and planning; NGOs for crisis intervention; public and private operators in the field of International Relations; consultancy firms for risk factor assessment; and multilateral international institutions.
As part of the educational program of the present curriculum, seminars, frontal lectures, lab activities, and study and research initiatives are organized, focusing on the theoretical aspects of various relevant disciplines, analysis and interpretation of sources, as well as methods and procedures for field research.
EDUCATIONAL OFFER A.A.
Educational offer for the curriculum in “ENHANCEMENT OF CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HERITAGE”
EDUCATIONAL OFFER ARCHIVE
Under construction
OPEN ACCESS DISSERTATIONS’ COLLECTION
Under construction
Responsible: Giuseppe Bettoni
REPRESENTED ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES
IUS/08
M-GGR/01
REPRESENTED AFAM DISCIPLINARY ARTISTIC SECTORS
ISDE 01
NEW MEDIA FOR COMMUNICATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF ARTISTIC HERITAGE
The “NEW MEDIA FOR COMMUNICATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF ARTISTIC HERITAGE” curriculum enriches the PhD Program with a further field of research, i.e. the use of new media applied to communication, enhancement, preservation, and artistic heritage appreciation, in synergy with public and private museums as well as sites of art-historical relevance; particularly. The Academies of Fine Arts involved in this aspect of the program are those of Rome and Florence.
The curriculum for this program encompasses multimedia production techniques (video, photography, animation, installation, expanded reality); communication techniques and art dissemination and appreciation; methods of historical documentation, materials and artistic techniques; cultural contexts and the history of ideas; art didactics workshops also for lifelong learning; graphic design and web design for exhibition and museography systems.
The curriculum’s objective is to provide adequate theoretical, methodological, and technical tools to conduct research in the field of digital, interactive, and multimedia languages applied to the communication and enhancement of artistic heritage. The goal is to enable doctoral students to achieve the highest levels of multidisciplinary theoretical knowledge and mastery of advanced technologies, while fostering the ability to create innovative products in the visual arts, video, animation, photography, multimedia storytelling, and interactive installations used in the communication, promotion, and enhancement of artistic heritage.
Doctoral students shall be trained to assume roles that require high specialization in the use of new technologies applied to communication and the enhancement of artistic heritage. These roles can be found in local and regional institutions, such as the soprintendenze, museums, libraries, archives, and film archives, as well as in foundations, public or private companies and firms, associations, and cultural institutions in the field of research, management, and fruition of artistic production. Additionally, the program will direct the student toward opportunities in the publishing, trade, and communication sectors aimed at promoting artistic heritage.
The educational program of the present curriculum encompasses seminars, frontal lectures, lab activities, and study and research initiatives focusing on the theoretical aspects of various relevant disciplines, analysis and interpretation of sources, as well as methods and procedures for field research.
EDUCATIONAL OFFER A.A.
Educational offer for the curriculum in “NEW MEDIA FOR COMMUNICATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF ARTISTIC HERITAGE”
EDUCATIONAL OFFER ARCHIVE
Under construction
OPEN ACCESS DISSERTATIONS’ COLLECTION
Under construction
Responsible: Dalma Frascarelli
REPRESENTED AFAM DISCIPLINARY ARTISTIC SECTORS
ABS47
ABAV02
ABTEC 41
PUBLISHING AND INNOVATION: CONTENTS, PROCESSES, TECHNOLOGIES
As part of the Doctorate of National Interest in Cultural Heritage coordinated by the Doctoral School of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, a curriculum, “PUBLISHING AND INNOVATION: CONTENTS, PROCESSES, TECHNOLOGIES,” has been introduced (39th cycle).
The objective of this curriculum is to train researchers and highly qualified professionals capable of devising, developing and managing project ideas for an innovative, participatory, inclusive approach to publishing products, including encouraging and governing their digital transition.
Privileged themes in the identification of applied research paths are those related to innovation in products and in the organizational and working methods specific to publishing activity and its supply chain (including those related to the production of school-university-and-professional publishing).
The curriculum in Publishing and Innovation offers a total of 6 three-year fellowships for the 39th cycle.
The fellowships, ex DM 117/2023, and thus related to plans of study and research in enterprises, provide for a minimum of 6 months of research abroad, 18 months of study and research in enterprises, and the remaining 12 months of study and research activities jointly organized by universities and enterprises.
Each of the six grants is for a research project that must mandatorily fall within one of the six research directions described below. The descriptions also indicate the co-funding company, at which the in-company study and research activities will take place. Research projects submitted by applicants and candidates should clearly specify which of the six research directions below they intend to refer to (this indication is requested when filling out the application form).
EDUCATIONAL OFFER A.A.
Educational offer for the curriculum in “PUBLISHING AND INNOVATION: CONTENTS, PROCESSES, TECHNOLOGIES”
EDUCATIONAL OFFER ARCHIVE
Under construction
OPEN ACCESS DISSERTATIONS’ COLLECTION
Under construction
Responsible: Gino Roncaglia
REPRESENTED ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES
M-STO/08
M-FIL/05
M-FIL/06
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
The educational branch of the PhD Program of National Interest in Cultural Heritage encompasses, in addition to conducting scientific research and dissertations writing, several educational and scientific activities, as approved by the professors on a case by case basis, including: participation in conferences and seminars outside the PhD Program both as speaker or attendee; tutoring students enrolled in undergraduate and master's degree courses; undertaking teaching or other forms of knowledge dissemination related to the individual PhD student’s PhD project; conducting advanced training activities in laboratories or research institutes and infrastructures; interdisciplinary training activities (language proficiency enhancement; computer training; improvement in research management and knowledge of European and International research systems, dissemination of the research results, understanding of what constitutes intellectual property, and open access to research data and products, fundamental principles of ethics, gender equality, and integrity, as well as further research experiences in Italy and abroad.
The curriculum in which each doctoral student is enrolled encompasses in-person teaching and related individual study with lectures, seminars, and hands-on instruction; only the successful passing of a comprehensive final examination permits the student to obtain the doctoral degree.
The training and educational activities shall be recorded annually by the doctoral students in their dossier/transcripts, which must be validated either by their respective tutors or by other designated members of the PhD Program Committee.
The enrolment renewal (from the first to the second and from the second to the third year) for each doctoral student is subject to a positive assessment following the presentation of their research progress, during seminar meetings scheduled annually within each curriculum. These meetings take place in the presence of the doctoral students of all the cycles of the curriculum and their professors and tutors.
Thanks to the travel funds for PhD candidates, each doctoral student is required to spend a research period abroad, to carry out research in archives, libraries, and/or other institutions as well as to attend conferences and seminars related to their PhD thesis research.
Each curriculum organizes and manages its own educational programs autonomously, as indicated on their respective website pages. Inter-curricular activities apply to all the curricula involved.
Further educational and research opportunities
• Language skills: Doctoral students who have at least an elementary level of language proficiency are required to take specific language enhancement courses (with particular reference to English language); they also have the opportunity to take courses offered by the Centro Linguistico di Ateneo (the University Language Center).
• Computer skills: Doctoral students can make use of the university's laboratories and the operational and scientific facilities of the research institutes that collaborate with the PhD. Program.
• Research management: in the training, specific aspects related not only to the planning of research (access to sources and their archiving and contextualization) are included, but also regarding field investigations and their practical aspects (logistics, organization, etc.). The Doctorate also relies on the collaboration of the personnel responsible for the financial management of research projects within the Department for training on research funding
• Research planning: the PhD educational program includes specific aspects relating not only to the research planning (access to historical and archival sources and their contextualization), but also to field investigations and related practical aspects (logistics, organization, etc.). The PhD Program also relies on the collaboration of the Department’s staff in charge of the financial management of research projects, for training in obtaining and managing research funding.
• Dissemination of research results: since the Doctoral Program relies on solid partnerships with universities and research institutes (National and International) of recognized standing, the acknowledgement of doctoral students’ research results passes, first and foremost, through their participation in seminars and conferences (with papers and/or poster sessions).
• For those students performing at the top level of academic achievement, each curriculum promotes also the publication of articles in respected scholarly journals specialized for different academic disciplines, with particular reference to those being rated as “A Class” journals by the ANVUR (the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes) or indexed in Scopus and/or WoS-Clarivate.
• Interdisciplinary teaching: the agreements that the PhD Program has established with research organizations and companies allow doctoral students to benefit from particularly original teaching opportunities not always associated with the academic field of humanities. As a result, it is possible for the students to enrich his or her regular curriculum by attending scholarly seminars outside the normal curriculum.