Messors – Art & Cultural Heritage Conservation
Messors supports and promotes cultural heritage.
Our educational workshops are immersive experiences involving participants in hands-on, in-the-field and in-situ activities.
Since 1989, our innovative and comprehensive approach has stimulated an engaging learning environment complemented by interactive and connecting experiential outcomes.
Our workshops and projects play a creative, dynamic role in conserving and enhancing historical contexts in the rich cultural setting of Puglia and Basilicata in Southern Italy.
In all the workshops offered, participants interact with experts, professionals and members of the region to explore ways tangible and intangible cultural patrimony and its conservation can substantially impact communities and larger cultural and social issues.
Tonio Creanza, Cultural Heritage Conservator and Restorer, is the founder and director of Messors. Tonio grew up on his family farm tending to durum wheat, vineyards, and olive tree cultivation in the historical and archeological rich setting of Puglia. As a cultural heritage conservator and 6th generation olive oil producer, his knowledge and passion for food culture and history is echoed in the Art, Architecture and Archaeology workshops he has been running since 1995. The hands-on and in-situ approach of his workshops creates an enriching living school model and culturally connecting experiences for travellers and locals.
Advocate and director of sustainable projects and multidisciplinary programs for the enhancement of Cultural Heritage and Historic Sites in rural context and disadvantaged areas.
Born and raised in Altamura (Puglia, Italy), in 1989 he founded the restoration company Sinergie and has over 30 years of experience in the fields of art restoration and historical cultural landscape conservation.
Some of his lead restoration and conservation projects include:
- Project Leader and co-Founder of Fornello Sustainable Preservation Project.
- Cultural Landscape conservation project leader and co-founder of Eutropia for the reuse of Masseria Jesce rupestrian site on the ancient Appian Way (Regina Viarum) near Altamura.
- Decorative restoration of “Palazzo Margherita“- Francis Ford Coppola’s property in Bernalda, Italy.
- Project head for restoration of 16th century carved stone altar, 13th-16th century decorative carvings at the Abbey Santa Maria di Pulsano at Mount Gargano
- Restoration of the Maiolica ceramic floor tiles of the Papal Salon of the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis in Assisi
- Restoration of the decorative finishes of Palazzo Venusio in the Sassi district of Matera.
- Conservative treatment procedures and restoration of numerous wood and stone statues, frescoes, paintings from churches and private collections; historic wallpaper, lime decorative finishes and architectural restoration of private historical buildings.
Since marrying Canadian artist Jennifer Bell, he divides his time between Vancouver, BC, and his native Italy.
Jennifer Bell, program designer and coordinator. Jennifer began working with Messors in 2010 as a workshop content developer for the Art Restoration, Culinary, and special event programs. She initiated the Messors ‘In Itinere’ Project which led to their collaboration with Chateau de Gudanes in Ariege, France, and the Decorative Arts Restoration workshop. As a professional artist, Jennifer understands the cultural contribution and impact that art has on a community and the importance of preserving it for future generations. Jennifer’s introduction to the world of fine arts began in her 20’s when she left Vancouver with a film background to study in NYC, and an introduction to the Austrian ‘volcanic expressionist‘ painter Gustav Rehberger, forged a close friendship and whole new career. Jennifer assisted Rehberger at his Carnegie Hall studio cataloguing his paintings while studying anatomy, drawing and painting at the Art Students League over five years. Jennifer’s paintings are in international collections and she been represented by Gallery Shoal Creek in Austin (TX) for more than two decades, as well as selected works represented by the Janknegt Gallery in the Netherlands, and the Eisenhaer Gallery in the U.S. Jennifer first attended Messors historical site preservation Jesce Project in 2004 and stayed on to continue her visual art studies at the Academia di Belle Arti in Bari, and to learn Italian. Living in Italy and being part of the community and its tangible and intangible cultural patrimony built the foundation of her commitment to Messors work in the promotion and preservation of art and cultural heritage. Jennifer divides her time between Italy and Canada.
Born and raised in Altamura, Giovanni has his Doctorate in Agronomy and is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Fornello Cave Project. Giovanni led the group that discovered the Neanderthal fossil skeleton ‘Uomo di Altamura’- ‘Altamura Man’ and continues to be active in Speleology. He has extensive knowledge of the Pugliese territory from his contributions ranging from biology, geology and photography. Giovanni is one of the co- founders of Sinergie and with Tonio has been running archaeology and site conservation projects since 1989.
Flip is a painting restorer at Muzeul de Artă Timișoara and works as lecturer and instructor of byzantine iconography, painting restoration and conservation. Flip instructs during our Art Restoration & Conservation workshop along with the Fornello Cave Project workshop. Flip continues as a researcher with his own in-depth study of the iconographical program of Fornello frescoes and Fornello workshop colleagues. Filip has his M.A. in “Icon -Painting and Restoration” and his BA from West University of Timișoara, Faculty of Arts and Design where he works as an assistant professor PhD in the Conservation-Restoration of Painting Department and CR-C.E.R.C. In 2014 he achieved his Ph.D degree in the field of visual arts, with the focus on byzantine iconography.
Our Approach & Philosophy
Program founder and director Tonio Creanza has been running fresco and art conservation projects and volunteer preservation programs for over 20 years. Since early childhood, he has harvested the grapes and olives, and seeded the Murgian plains with wheat. As a teenager, he explored the underground caves and learned to identify the geographical clues of hidden Hellenic burial sites.
His passion for the historically rich region is echoed in the programs approaching them with the enthusiastic concept “to do is to learn”; recognizing the importance of process and learning through practice. All of our workshop leaders and contributors share this same spirit.
In 1989, an enthusiastic group with various specialties in the areas of conservation of the regional artistic and cultural heritage gathered together to form a collective under the name Sinergie. And In 2010, the group established Masseria La Selva, an 18th century hunting lodge, as the location to conduct the workshops under its new name Messors.
Messor, in ancient Roman mythology, was one of the helpers to the goddess of agriculture and grain crops. A Messor is one who “reaps and harvests”.
Since its inception, under the guidance of program founder director Tonio Creanza, the company has been working on: archeological research, extensive restoration projects on frescoes, architecture, canvas, wood and stone statues and decorative painting, guided tours, educational field school projects, and “study abroad university programs” credited courses in fresco restoration and archeology.
In 1993, the collective proposed a project titled Eutropia to the municipality of Altamura. The aim was to restore and promote an important historical-archeological site called Masseria Jesce. This educational volunteer project ran from 1995 to 2009 and hosted over 700 volunteers coming from abroad to help and learn traditional stone wall techniques of restoration. By 2009, seventy percent of the site was restored and is now used by the community for arts and culture events.
Between 2004 and 2008, the organization, in conjunction with Dr Joan Walker, collaborated with James Madison University of Virginia to offer educational programs in the area of fresco restoration and archaeology in Puglia region.