Emanuele Marconi was born in Milan in 1979. After receiving a diploma at the Liceo Classico, he attended the Civic School of Lutherie of Milan, where he received diplomas, with full marks, in 2003 (plucked instruments construction) and in 2004 (restoration).

He has a Bachelor’s degree cum laude in Conservation of Historical and Musical heritage from the University of Bologna.

He has participated in workshops and seminars concerning the planning of catalogue files and conducted research on restoring intervention and conservation activities.

In 2004, he published with Luisella Nobili Sékules the Italian translation of José Romanillos’ book Antonio Torres Guitarmaker, His Life and Work, for Cremonabooks.

Emanuele has given some lectures at the University of Studies in Pavia, Faculty of Musicology, in Cremona.

Since 2005, he has been a consultant, as diagnostic and conservation expert, at the Civic Museum of Musical Instruments - Milan, for which he has edited an electronic conservation schedule, in collaboration with the Curator of the Museum, Dr Francesca Tasso; where he participated on projects of preventive conservation, planned maintenance and consolidation treatment.

Consultant for the project and development of the conservation report of SIRBeC (Computer-based system for Cultural Heritage of Region Lombardia), on behalf of Regione Lombardia.

Consultant Conservator for the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Soprintendenza Regionale Lombarda.

Collaboration with ENEA (Italian National Agency for new Technologies, Energy and the Environment), studies on imaging applied to musical instruments.

In 2010 has published the book FOTOGRAFARE STRUMENTI MUSICALI. Rilevamento, documentazione, diagnostica per immagini come pratica di conservazione (together with C. Canevari) with Il Prato publishing house.

He is a member of the Italian Society of Musicology (SIdM) and the International Council of Museum (ICOM), for CIMCIM committee (International Committee of Musical Instrument Museums and Collections) and ICOM_CC committee (Committee for Conservation).

THE PROFESSION: CONSERVATOR - RESTORER

Conservation embraces (ICOM CC definition):

-    Preventive conservation: all measures and actions aimed at avoiding and minimising future deterioration or loss. These measures and actions are indirect – they do not interfere with the materials and structures of the items. They do not modify their appearance

-    Remedial conservation: all actions directly applied to an item or a group of items aimed at arresting current damaging processes or reinforcing their structure. These actions are only carried out when the items are in such a fragile condition or deteriorating at such a rate, that they could be lost in a relatively short time

-    Restoration: all actions directly applied to a single and stable item aimed at facilitating its appreciation, understanding and use