SUPPORT FOR THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHAN CHAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK AREA
The Italian Mission, in collaboration with the Istituto Italo Latino Americano, organized the project “Sostegno allo sviluppo socio economico della zona del Parco Archeologico di Chan Chan – Corso di formazione per artigiani della ceramica” which was financed by the Cooperazione Italiana agency, in collaboration with local institutions in whose territory the archaeological complex lies: Instituto Nacional de Cultura de La Libertad, Gerencia Nacional de Artesania, Turismo y Comercio Exterior and Municipalità di Huanchaco.
The project has the following closely linked objectives:
- Refining the professional skills of young craftworkers already operating in the pottery sector by means of a theoretical and practical course and the exchange of technical and artistic knowledge, as specified below.
- Creation of a craft centre at the end of the entire teaching process and associated exchange of knowledge between Peruvian and Italian potters, using equipment and tools purchased for the course’s experimental laboratory.
- Establishment of ‘high quality pottery’ together with other Peruvian towns where such pottery is already produced, e.g. Chulucama, Huascharan, Ayacucho and Huamachuco, thus adding a further cultural attraction to the region’s fascinating archaeological heritage and contributing to extending the areas visited by tourists – currently all in the south of Peru (Machu Picchu, Nazca, Arequipa and Titicaca).
2009 Training course for pottery craftworkers
Pottery training course held at the Museo del Sitio de Chan Chan for pottery craftsmen from Trujillo Region, taught by expert Sardinian potters. At the same time a basic pottery craft workshop was set up in the museum.
REPRODUCTION OF OLD DECORATIONS
FIRING
2011 Advanced course for pottery craftworkers
With funding from the Lazio Regional Authority (Italy), an advanced pottery course was held for 21 Peruvian craftworkers from La Libertad Region. The course was conducted at the Museo de Sitio de Chan Chan and lasted for 4 weeks. The first 3 were dedicated to practical and theory lessons held in a temporary workshop set up for the purpose and the last week dealt with administrative and legal regulations concerning this professional activity. The initiative resulted in the establishment of a group of more than twenty potters in the Chan Chan area, centred on the Museo de Sitio de Chan Chan where equipment was available in a temporary workshop. The new wood-burning kiln and large electric kiln were used by group members, who acquired collective experience.
2012 Internships in Italy for Peruvian functionaries
As part of the project, internships were arranged for Ministerio de Cultura del Perú functionaries, who were invited to visit and become acquainted with some of the more prestigious Italian institutions operating in the sectors of cultural heritage conservation, management and enhancement. The internships were organized in collaboration with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici of Southern Etruria, which demonstrated the approaches employed with regard to Italy’s archaeological patrimony. Visits were organized to the sites of Cerveteri and Tarquinia, which like Chan Chan are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. These were followed by meetings with the Comando dei Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale responsible for the retrieval of illegally excavated archaeological remains, the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro and the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro e la Conservazione del Patrimonio Archivistico e Librario. Last came a seminar at the CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche) for further explanation and discussion.
