Mariangela Vandini

Higher education increasingly requires educational approaches capable of engaging students with complex sustainability challenges through interdisciplinary, participatory, and context-sensitive learning. Although hackathons have gained attention in higher education as intensive collaborative and challenge-based formats, their educational use remains predominantly associated with technological and solution-oriented contexts, while their adaptation to cultural heritage and its relationship with Education for Sustainable Development remain comparatively underexplored. This study investigates how the hackathon format can be critically adapted to cultural heritage higher education and examines the educational processes, opportunities, and limitations emerging from its application to heritage-risk challenges. Drawing on an exploratory case study involving 25 university students in Ravenna (Italy), the initiative combined Project-Based Learning and design thinking within an intensive, collaborative format focused on cultural heritage at risk. Rather than directly transferring a prototype-driven model from technological contexts, the activity emphasized interpretation, communication, audience awareness, and community engagement. Findings indicate high levels of student engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration, while the proposals developed during the activity framed heritage risk as a challenge involving not only conservation and scientific understanding, but also communication, accessibility, and civic engagement. Participants’ responses further highlighted processes of critical reflection, collaborative meaning-making, and shared responsibility consistent with sustainability-oriented learning. The study suggests that heritage-focused hackathons can provide structured spaces for engaging students with complex and socially situated sustainability challenges, while also highlighting the need for caution in interpreting short-term, self-reported outcomes as evidence of sustained learning or competence development.

The increasing availability of digital documentation in cultural heritage has amplified the need for interoperable systems capable of integrating heterogeneous data and supporting risk-informed conservation strategies. In the field of Disaster Risk Management (DRM), the application of structured methodologies—such as the ICCROM-CCI ABC Method—is often hindered by fragmented data sources, inconsistent terminology, and limited interoperability across institutions. This study presents a semantic workflow for the harmonization, enrichment, and integration of cultural heritage risk assessment data within a CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CIDOC-CRM)-compliant environment. The proposed system is structured as an Extract–Transform–Load (ETL) pipeline that converts heterogeneous assessment records into interoperable semantic knowledge graphs. The workflow combines controlled vocabularies, project-specific thesauri for risk agents and heritage typologies, and formal ontology mapping implemented through the Mapping Memory Manager (3M) and executed with the X3ML engine. The resulting data are deployed within a ResearchSpace environment, enabling semantic querying, cross-dataset exploration, and integration with external knowledge infrastructures. The workflow was applied to a dataset comprising 295 cultural heritage sites in the municipality of Ravenna (Italy). The transformation process generated a CIDOC-CRM-compliant knowledge graph containing 134,611 RDF triples and 18,954 entities, integrating information on cultural assets, risk scenarios, actors, documentary resources, and quantitative risk assessments. Through the adoption of persistent identifiers and semantic mappings, the workflow also supports interoperability with external cultural heritage resources, including ArCo and GeoNames, facilitating the contextualization and enrichment of local risk assessment data. By transforming fragmented assessment records into structured and interoperable knowledge, the proposed workflow contributes to bridging semantic and information gaps in cultural heritage risk management. The study demonstrates the feasibility of integrating risk assessment data within an ontology-based semantic infrastructure and highlights its potential to support data integration, semantic interoperability, knowledge reuse, and future decision-support applications for preventive conservation and territorial risk management.

Disaster Risk Management (DRM) for cultural heritage is increasingly recognized as a global priority, yet methodological harmonization and conceptual inconsistencies continue to hinder its effective implementation. This study develops and tests an integrated framework for Disaster Risk Assessment (DRA) applied to the Arian Baptistery of Ravenna—part of the UNESCO World Heritage property Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna since 1996. By combining elements from the ICCROM ABC Method, the IPCC/UNDRR conceptual models, and the QuiskScan model associated with the Nara Grid for value assessment, the research identifies the essential data, definitions, and conditions required to prepare a coherent risk knowledge base. The workflow includes five main steps: context analysis, stakeholder mapping, value assessment, terminological alignment, and risk components systematization. Results demonstrate that effective DRA depends not only on technical assessment of hazards but also on the integration of social, institutional, and governance factors that shape vulnerability. The study also proposes a hybrid hazard framework combining ICCROM’s Ten Agents of Deterioration with the UNDRR 2025 List of Hazards, expanding the concept of “dissociation” to include governance failures and socio-political risks. The Arian Baptistery thus serves as both a case study and a methodological laboratory, offering a replicable model for organizing knowledge, harmonizing terminology, and bridging disciplinary divides in cultural heritage risk management.

Although child-centred approaches are increasingly adopted in disaster risk reduction (DRR) education, cultural heritage remains largely absent from pedagogical models addressing risk, agency, and community belonging. This study explores how heritage-based experiential learning can support young children’s cognitive, emotional, and civic development in DRR contexts. A qualitative intrinsic case study was conducted with 18 pupils (ages 8–9) in a primary school in Ravenna, Italy, through a four-session intervention grounded in Learning-by-Doing and Play-Based Learning. Activities included risk identification games, tableaux vivants, archaeological puzzles, and a simulated triage of heritage objects. Data from structured observations, teacher notes, children’s artefacts, and feedback discussions were analysed through qualitative content analysis. Findings indicate that experiential, embodied, and collaborative tasks facilitated children’s understanding of risk, promoted metacognitive reflection, and nurtured an emerging sense of responsibility toward cultural heritage. Heritage provided a meaningful learning context that supported emotional engagement, sense-making, and early civic agency. The study highlights the pedagogical value of integrating cultural heritage into DRR education and suggests avenues for extending holistic, community-relevant learning in early childhood.

Outdoor glass is subject to degradation due to environmental factors, which alter its physical and chemical properties depending on the exposure conditions. Studying glass weathering and the effectiveness and durability of conservation treatments is necessary for developing optimal conservation strategies for glass heritage objects. Here, an accelerated aging protocol based on actual environmental data is successfully employed to replicate weathering caused by rain runoff, temperature, humidity and UVA radiation in unsheltered conditions. Two types of silicate glass with traditional compositions were artificially aged to investigate the corrosion processes and produce representative weathered substrates for applying and aging protective treatments. The performance of two recently marketed Siox-5 sol–gel systems was compared with that of Paraloid B72. Glass specimens, as well as leaching rain solutions, were analyzed with different techniques, including SEM/EDS, FTIR-ATR, color measurements and MP-AES. The composition of the glass influences weathering patterns, which in turn affect coating adhesion and overall performance. Sol–gel coatings demonstrate good chemical stability and tend to adhere more effectively to degraded surfaces than to well-preserved ones. The coatings exhibit varying degrees of sensitivity to environmental factors, with one of the sol–gel systems generally performing better than the others under the considered exposure conditions.

Leopold Blaschka (1822–1895) and his son Rudolf (1857–1939) created scientifically accurate glass models of marine invertebrates that reshaped natural history education in the 19th century. Their work overcame the limitations of traditional preservation techniques, allowing for detailed and lifelike representations of soft-bodied sea creatures and botanic species. Today, their models are preserved in prestigious collections worldwide. This paper examines not only the historical and artistic significance of the Blaschka models but also presents the findings of recent material analyses, including computed tomography (CT), scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDS), visible ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The multi-analytical approach allowed for the characterization of the chemical composition of the glass and adhesives used, shedding light on the Blaschkas’ unique manufacturing processes and material choices. Data from this study demonstrate how the combination of a multi-analytical approach with knowledge of historical glassmaking practices can provide a solid foundation for both conservation efforts and further academic investigation into these composite objects. The study underscores the models’ value not only as artistic masterpieces but also as technological artifacts, offering insights into 19th-century scientific craftsmanship at the intersection of art and biology. Furthermore, the study presents a conservation intervention based on scientific evidence and a skilfully tailored solution, chosen piece-by-piece, part-by-part of the intricate glass models.

This study presents a comprehensive approach to risk management and planned preventative maintenance (PPM) for cultural heritage, focusing on the hypogeum archaeological site beneath the Chamber of Commerce in Rimini, Italy. Hypogeal environments pose unique conservation challenges due to their microclimates, biological threats, and structural vulnerabilities. Applying the ABC Method—developed by ICCROM and CCI—this research systematically identifies, analyzes, and prioritizes risks associated with agents of risks. The methodology was complemented by the Nara Grid to assess the site’s authenticity and cultural value, aiding in the delineation of risk areas and informing strategic conservation priorities. The study identifies efflorescence formation, flooding risks, and lack of management guidelines as extreme threats, proposing tailored treatments and practical interventions across multiple layers of control. Through environmental monitoring, empirical analysis, and a multidisciplinary framework, the research offers a replicable model for sustainable conservation and preventive heritage management in similar subterranean contexts.

The deprivation of historical and cultural testimony has a direct impact on a territory and its local communities, leading to the loss of social cohesiveness, identity values, and resources that come from sustainable tourism. Even though international action frameworks (Hyogo Framework for Action, Sendai Framework for Action, and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals) emphasise how important it is to recognise the relationship between heritage, society, and territory, a strategic and sustainable vision of participatory conservation and safeguarding is still required on a local level. Through the activities implemented within the SIRIUS and RESTART projects, led by the Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, this paper aims to stimulate a reflection on how the cultural heritage of a place might constitute an effective resilience tool for the impacted populations, with a focus on young citizens. As a transversal element in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, cultural heritage can play a significant role in the establishment of a “risk culture” among residents and visitors, promoting the adoption of responsible behaviours for one’s own safety in an emergency and for the better preservation of cultural assets. In a broader perspective, this strategy will support “climate-sensitive” tourism and citizenship, which can facilitate adaptation to local climate change impacts.

Glass can be considered a locus of meaning, a material which has been the repository of traditional knowledge and technological expertise for at least three millennia. The history of glass speaks of know-how, technological transitions, and contaminations of recipes for its manufacture, which have changed across the world over the centuries. As the amount of recovered glass from archaeological contexts is much lower compared to ceramic and metal finds, research has often considered glass as a rare material. Furthermore, glass production, in ancient times as in the present day, requires the use of selected raw materials and noticeable amounts of fuel, making reuse and recycling practices necessary to foster sustainability, from both an economical and an environmental perspective. Latin authors, such as Juvenal and Martial, reported buyers of broken glass in Imperial Rome, presumably destined for recycling. Archaeometry has also provided data that allow, today, to clarify different aspects related to production cycles, uses and reuses of a material that, starting from the Roman age, became as common as modern plastics. From beakers and goblets reused with different purposes to mosaic tesserae detached for making new mosaics or to be refused and employed as “pigments” for colouring glass, this paper aims to provide an overview of reuse and recycling practices of ancient glass through a discussion of selected case studies from Roman to Middle Ages, showing how the cycle of this material can be framed as an actual example of sustainable circular economy in the past.

The study focuses on an assemblage of glass finds from the citadel of Kafir Kala, Uzbekistan, located along one of the major Eurasian branches of the “Silk Roads” with a consistent occupation between the 8th and 12th century CE. Glass fragments for this study were selected based on marked surface alterations they showed, with stratified deposits of different thickness and colours. Starting from a preliminary observation under Optical Microscope, fragments were clustered into four main groups based on the surface appearance of the alterations; Scanning Electron Microscopy investigations of the stratigraphy of the alteration products were then carried out, to evaluate micro-textural, morphological and compositional features. Data from the analyses allowed identifying preferential patterns of development of the various degradation morphologies, linkable to compositional alterations of the glass due to burial environment and the alkali leaching action of the water. Iridescence, opaque weathering (at times associated with black stains), and blackening were identified as recurring degradation morphologies; as all but one sample were made of plant ash-based glass, results show no specific correlation between glass composition and the occurrence of one or the other degradation pattern, often found together. Framed in a broad scenario, the paper aims to set the basis for the development of a study approach dedicated to the degradation morphologies affecting archaeological glasses, a topic still lacking systematisation and in-depth dedicated literature.