The Laboratory for Preventive & Interventive Conservation- Management of Cultural Heritage (PreServe)

The Research Laboratory for Preventive & Interventive Conservation-Management of Cultural Heritage (PreServe) was established in the Government Gazette 4056 / Issue B / July 30, 2025.

The Laboratory (PreServe) promotes scientific research and enriches teaching approaches  in the broader field of the science for the conservation, management and preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Via in-depth theoretical study, enriched with the applied uses of technology which pertain to the broader areas of cultural environments, the Laboratory (PreServe) enhances teaching and research expertise.

More specifically, the Laboratory aims to:

1. Respond to the educational (Undergraduate and Graduate) and research requirements of the Department of Environment, as well as of other Departments of the Ionian University, on varied topics but within the scope of its relevant activities and research interests as outlined below.
2. Implement lifelong learning programs (KE.DI.BI.M, etc.) and summer schools, thus addressing a wider audience.
3. Organize and offer distance learning courses.
4. Shift to contemporary/advanced teaching methods which will incorporate the use of modern/state-of-the-art facilities and special equipment.
5. Undertake the familiarization and practical training of students in modern tools and methods for the preventive and interventional conservation and preservation of cultural environments and heritage.
6. Conduct research on topics which fall within the Laboratory’s areas of activity opting for the publication of scientific papers, monographs and expert scientific books. PreServe’s relevant research will support the development of postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral fields of study/ research interests.
7. Collaborate with select research centers and academic institutions in Greece and abroad, provided that their scientific interests converge, counterpart and complement those set by PreServe.
8. Participate in and ensure effective use of European and National research funding programs.
9. Organize lectures with invited speakers (from Greece and abroad) acknowledged for their expertise, workshops, seminars, symposia, conferences and other scientific events, along with the production of publications (e.g. special issues in scientific journals).
10. Provide expert services to organizations as defined in the Presidential Decree 159/1984 “Conditions for the provision of services by University Laboratories to individuals and organizations of any legal form” (Government Gazette 53/A/27.04.1984).

The Laboratory (PreServe) will serve the educational and research requirements of the Department of Environment at Ionian University in the broader scientific area of the conservation and management of Cultural Environment.  Indicatively, it will explore the following fields of study:

• Preventive conservation of cultural artefacts
• Environment and culture
• Environmental impacts on monuments
• Conservation of antiquities and works of art
• Recording of cultural material
• Management of tangible and intangible heritage
• Study and implementation of preventive conservation
• Outlining and drafting of maintenance proposals
• Conducting conservation work on excavated objects, cultural monuments and works of art
• Performing conservation on paper material, old prints and documents
• Developing new materials, technologies and practices relevant to preventive and interventive conservation
• Observation of the interconnections between climate crisis and the protection of monuments
• Recording of the environmental parameters of monuments
• Supervising museum collections, examination of their conservation environment and evaluation of the effectiveness of performed interventions
• Recording air pollutants and monuments
• Study of the impact of volatile organic compounds onto works of art
• Undertaking the digitization of artefacts
• Recording and documenting artefacts, monuments, libraries and archaeological sites
• Expert skills on green conservation
• Exploring the breath of educational practices within cultural sciences
• Designing educational programs in museums and for the promotion of conservation science
• Providing consultation services to cultural organizations

The Laboratory’s (PreServe) research interests are not limited to the above scientific fields and areas of study but can be enriched with new related and innovative subjects which will arise from new collaborations, funded projects and the implementation of varied educational, research and development programs.

The constituent members of the Laboratory (PreServe) are as follows:  

• Christos Karydis, Associate Professor, Department of Environment, Ionian University.

Research area: Preventive conservation of cultural arefacts

https://envi.ionio.gr/gr/department/staff/517-karydis/

Orcid Id: 0000-0003-2932-4052

• Panagiota Manti, Associate Professor, Department of Environment, Ionian University.

Research area: Conservation of inorganic archaeological and museum artefacts

https://envi.ionio.gr/gr/department/staff/518-manti/

Orcid Id:0000-0001-7016-1852

• Sophia Emmanouilidou, Tenured Laboratory and Teaching Fellow (EDIP), Department of Environment, Ionian University.

Research area: American Literature and Ethnic Studies 

https://envi.ionio.gr/gr/department/staff/991-emmanouilidou/

Orcid Id: 0000-0002-2637-7995

Doctors
Marina Nykta: The municipal libraries of Attica: Recording and quality assessment of
services. Preservation, material management, and preventive conservation.
PhD Candidates
Nikolaos Gerentes: The development of religious tourism in Zakynthos and Corfu
with emphasis on environmental management.
Eleftherios Papaioannou: The wall paintings of the Catholicon of the Holy
Monastery of Vatopedi at Mount Athos: Documentation, physicochemical analyses,
preventive ând interventive conservation.
Dionysia Katsikonouri: The monasteries of the Prefecture of Ilia: Documentation
and study through distance learning in Vocational High Schools, Institutes of
Vocational Training (IEK), and Vocational Training Centers (KEK), aiming at both
tourism development and their preservation.
Athanasia Papagianni: Design and creation of an ecomuseum in rural Greece as case
study: Kassandra Peninsula in Chalkidiki. A proposed methodological approach
focusing on user-centered practices of the ecomuseum.