Scientific research and teaching

Ilaria Cazzaniga, Pellegrino Rossi St. 5, 20161 Milan - Tax Code CZZLRI92A61E063Y - VAT No. 11268490965

Accredited Cultural Heritage Professional

I am listed on the Ministry of Culture's (MiC) official register of professionals for Cultural Heritage, in the area of diagnostics for conservation and restoration. This recognition represents, for me, a concrete responsibility: it means working with method, scientific rigor, and full awareness of the value of the instruments entrusted to me.

I completed, with honors, the two-year Advanced Training School in Judicial Archaeology and Crimes Against Cultural Heritage (CSC Viterbo, 2021–2023), a program that integrates diagnostics with legal protection and the fight against crimes against cultural heritage — a rare perspective in the world of lutherie, which allows me to support clients also in matters of authentication, disputes, and valuations for the international market.

Diagnostics for Musical Instruments

An instrument tells its own story through its materials, its layers and the repairs that someone once chose not to disclose. Diagnostics serves to uncover that story — before restoring, before buying, before deciding.

It does not replace traditional expertise: it complements it. Where the expert eye assesses, scientific instruments measure, document, and go deeper — literally, in the case of tomography. The result is an understanding of the instrument that leaves no room for assumption.

When it's useful

You're considering a major purchase. You want to know what lies beneath the varnish, whether the plates are original, whether there are undisclosed structural repairs. Imaging analysis and a condition report give you concrete answers before you sign.

You're planning a restoration. Knowing the varnish stratigraphy, the thickness of the plates, and the position and condition of the bass bar and soundpost changes the choices you make during the intervention — and often simplifies them.

The instrument needs to be insured, loaned, or sold. A condition report drawn up according to international standards for cultural heritage is the reference document for insurers, museums, and auction houses.

You have an instrument you know little about. Dating, materials, previous interventions: non-invasive diagnostics make it possible to reconstruct an instrument's history without ever touching it.

Our tailor-made services

X-ray CT scan

VIS and UV imaging/photography

Condition report

CT scan or computed tomography makes it possible to "see inside" the instrument without opening it. Plate thicknesses, the position and condition of the bass bar and other internal components, glue joints, patches, hidden repairs: everything becomes visible in cross-section, without touching anything. It is particularly useful for violins, violas, cellos, and antique instruments whose state of conservation needs to be assessed before any intervention.

Ultraviolet light photography reveals overlapping layers of varnish, pictorial retouching, part replacements, and undisclosed restorations. High-resolution visible light photography documents every detail of the surface. Together, the two techniques are essential for producing accurate condition reports and for appraisals that need to hold up to scrutiny from the market or from museum institutions.

A comprehensive document that captures the instrument's current condition: damage, wear, modifications, critical areas, and history of interventions. Essential for insurance purposes, sales, loans to museums and foundations, or simply to maintain a reference record over time. Drawn up according to international standards for cultural heritage.

Projects and collaborations

Alternative materials to ebony for lutherie (ongoing)

Study on commercial woods as alternatives to ebony for fingerboards, tailpieces, and pegs — materials now subject to severe international restrictions. The work combines scientific analysis and workshop experimentation, in collaboration with Rivolta RiWoods, a specialized supplier of tonewoods for lutherie.

Fondazione Pro Canale – Virtual Museum (ongoing)

Coordination and scientific supervision of the diagnostic surveys for the Fondazione Pro Canale's virtual museum: tomography and UV imaging of the instruments in the collection, to document their structure and state of conservation.

Teaching in lutherie – 2020–2022

Chemistry for lutherie at the Civica Scuola di Liuteria di Milano, and teaching assistant for the bowed string instrument-making course at the Accademia di Liuteria Piemontese "San Filippo" in Turin. Outreach programs also delivered for music schools.

SVGB – Continuing professional development for luthiers, 2024

Presentation at the continuing education day of the Schweizer Verband Geigenbau und Bogenbau (November 11, 2024): an overview of diagnostic techniques for bowed string instruments and a hands-on workshop on photography and condition reports.

Tarisio – Condition reports and cataloguing, 2022–2024

Collaboration with Tarisio Europe, an international auction house specializing in historical instruments. Instrument preparation, condition report drafting, measurements, and photography for the catalogue.

Museo degli Strumenti Musicali – Castello Sforzesco, Milan, 2017–2018

Design and development of the museum's multimedia trail, accessible via QR code in the exhibition rooms. Developed during an internship under the supervision of Prof. Goffredo Haus (LIM, University of Milan). → Discover the trail

Scientific publication – Coatings, 2021

Cazzaniga, I. et al. A Multi-Analytical Non-Invasive Approach to Aqueous Cleaning Systems in Treatments on Bowed String Musical Instruments. Coatings 2021, 11, 150. Research on conservation cleaning methods for bowed string instruments, in collaboration with the Arvedi Laboratory (Museo del Violino, Cremona). → https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/11/2/150