The roots of our European language of forms and symbols, our understanding of images and messages are in Rom. One of the main goals of our activities was to strengthen our school as a sending institution through these studies of masterpieces of handicrafts: One of the main goals of our activities was to strengthen our school as a sending institution through these studies of masterpieces of handicrafts: through an active theoretical and, above all, practical discussion of the participants on site, which is not possible with us in Munich. The task was to set up an Erasmus team of teachers and trainers - who continue their professional training - to pass on defined content to the trainees and to implement this work at a European level in a network. These comprehensive goals led us to work with two project-specific, strong Italian partner institutions: the Istituto Italiano Arte Artigianato e Restauro awith a focus on wood crafts and restoration at prominent workshops , and the Cimitero Acattolico with its historical grave monuments. With support from colleagues from Campo Santo Teutonico - the historic cemetery next to St. Peter's Basilica, from the German Archaeological Institute in Rome and from the Capitoline Museums.
At our "Städtische Kunsthandwerkerschulen" in Munich (Germany), the focus of the training is a solid handicraft training in the entire field of sculpture. The focus is also on promoting creativity and conveying design criteria, knowledge of materials, planning, construction and individual style. Our main goal is the development of a sensitive perception for design and shaping for objects from the wood and stone sculptor area. The knowledge of the basics and the development of our trades has become less and less popular with trainers, teachers and students in recent years, as there is often too little or no time for the necessary intensive work in the busy school and work routine. To actively counter this development, our project should use historical masterpieces as an example to demonstrate and document the cultural value of handicrafts in terms of development, impact and restoration. Rome offers ideal conditions for this.