British architect David Chipperfield is to carry out major restoration works on the Procuratie Vecchie on Venice's Piazza San Marco, which will see the palace opened to the public for the first time in 500 years, reported The Dezeen. Due to be completed in 2020, the project will be a multi-million dollar undertaking for its owners, the Italian insurance company the Generali Group. For five centuries the building has been closed to the public, reserved for politicians and royalty. But once David Chipperfield and his studio complete the restoration work, the palace will become a venue for art exhibitions, installations and seminars. Built on top of stone arcades in the twelfth century, the Procuratie Vecchie runs along the north side of the iconic central square. At 152 meters long it is Venice's longest building. The original two-storey structure burnt down and was replaced in the 1530s by a three-storey structure in the early Renaissance classical style. Once at the heart of Venetian government, the building still has original frescos and ornate ceilings from the days it was used by the nine governors who aided the Doge administer the city-state known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice. At ground floor, the stone arcades are home to Venice's famous – and expensive – coffee shops, the oldest of which have been in situ since the 18th century. The restoration will also include opening a hidden passageway between Piazza San Marco and the Royal Gardens. The park on the bank of the Grand Canal has lain abandoned for years but now there are plans to restore a wisteria-covered pergola and plant an orangery. The unique location of Venice, a UNESCO World Heritage site, means all building materials will have to be bought in and out by boat along its canals.

Although Armenia occupies relatively small territory, there are about 26000 cultural and historical monuments located there. That is, about 1 square kilometer accounts for one historical monument, and this is a great opportunity for development of tourism in the region. The problem is that we do not take full advantage of this opportunity, since almost 80 percent of our historical heritage is in distress, in a dilapidated condition. And if something is being restored, then it is mainly the churches and mainly with private funds, but not the fortresses, caravanserais and other worldly buildings and structures. However, there are happy exceptions, as, for example, in the case of the cave fortress complex Zarni-Parni. The cave fortress of the X century Zarni-Parni is helpless before the destructive power of the time. It would have remained just a name in the list of cultural and historical monuments, but then benefactor Ruben Mesropyan decided to restore it. A group of architects headed by Stepan Nalbandyan prepared the design of the fortress recovery. To date, the first lower fortress-cave of Zarni with an area of 605 square meters has been completely restored. In the cave you can see a museum with ancient household items of the Lori region from the personal collection of R. Mesropyan and ponds where water accumulates from the cliff. A recently built staircase leads to the upper cave Parni. This is a successful experience, which should become a good example of restoration and use of cultural and historical monuments. Stepan Nalbandyan is the vice-president of the Armenian Association of Architects in charge of historical monuments, and the Director of the Armenian branch of the international charity organization "Country and Culture". Within the framework of these two organizations, many restoration works are carried out annually, and mainly churches are being restored. This year the restoration works are pending for the following monuments: the 5th century one nave basilica church Saint Hripsime in Verishen village, Syunik province, Surb Astvacacin church (XVII century) in Lernadzor, Saint Hripsime in Srashen (XVII century) and a V century church in Mirak, Aragatsotn province. The monastery complex of Surb Hovhannes in Meghri has already been consecrated and hosts the believers. This year the restoration and improvement works have finally started in monastery complex Sanahin. It is already 8 years the restoration of the monastery-desert complex Tandzaparakh continues with the help of philanthropists and volunteers of the Armenian branch of the international charity organization “Country and Culture”. The desert is located in 5,5km from Bekh district of Kapan city. Stepan Nalbandyan noted that unfortunately there is very little restoration work implemented within the framework of state projects, and what is being done is often of poor quality and unsuitable for working on such a thin and fragile material. Meanwhile, these monuments are our visit cards in the world of tourism, and their competent restoration is one of the keys to the development of this industry.

The opinion of the architect Sashur Kalashyan The Kumayri museum-reserve was created by the decision of Armenian government in 1980 to preserve the original historical and architectural heritage (about 1200 buildings) of Gyumri. In the late seventies of the last century city was using its last free lands for new developments within its administrative borders. To continue development program, it was necessary to demolish historical one-story buildings in the center of the city. But demolishing them meant depriving the Gyumri people of historical memory. Each of these buildings was talking about whole era, a stone witness of the past. The earthquake in 1988 and the following years left their destructive trail on these buildings: abandoned, cracked, with some weird additions, they resembled those that had lost the former glitter of beauties. In 2017, the program for the development of the historical center “Kumayri” was developed and implemented, and work began on the restoration of some buildings. Will Gyumri find its former spirit and brilliance? We represent the opinion of the honored architect of Armenia, the chief architect of Gyumri in 1976-1994, Sashur Kalashyan. At the behest of fate, I was one of the authors of the establishment of Kumayri museum-reserve. In 1976, I was appointed the chief architect of Leninakan (the former Soviet time name of Gyumri). In accordance with the five-year urban development plan, it was necessary to determine the locations of new developments for factories, residential and administrative buildings. The number of land plots, free of buildings, was limited in Leninakan. We would have completed their development in the next two or three years. But for the continuation of the development plan, we would have to demolish the old buildings in the central part of the city. I, as an architect, could not allow the demolition of buildings of cultural and historical value. True, cultural tourism was not developed in those years, but in some cities of Russia, Georgia, the Baltic republics, steps were taken at the legislative level to preserve the historical and architectural environment. I and a group of like-minded colleagues decided to study their experience and legislatively consolidate the preservation of old buildings in Leninakan. I visited these cities (Nizhny Novgorod, Tbilisi, Tallinn), got acquainted with the contents of the relevant legislative packages, understood what they were aimed at. Then we decided to take an unprecedented step to give the whole administrative district the status of the museum-reserve, prepared a large legislative package and submitted it for approval to the Armenian government. In 1980, the government approved the establishment of Kumayri museum-reserve. Large-scale restoration and improvement works began. The wide media coverage of this work led to the fact that in two or three years groups of specialists from Yerevan, Tbilisi, even from Russia and the Baltic republics began to come to see and understand how we do it. And it is quite natural that the result of the work done in 1985 was marked by a high state award of Armenia. Unfortunately, the earthquake of 1988 and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union interrupted our noble mission. The museum-reserve for obvious reasons was abandoned: the staff of the administrative staff was reduced, the buildings-monuments handed over to the directorate, some were privatized, many damaged buildings were demolished. However, the collective concept of the museum-reserve, to the credit of Gyumri people, retained its cultural appeal. In 2017, the business program for the development of the historical center Kumayri, developed by a local project team, was launched. To implement this program an investment fund was established for capital repair and modernization of the street network, as well as large-scale works on the restoration of some major historic buildings. However, the whole trouble is that none of the people involved in this work are fully aware of the legally established rules of ownership and, especially, of the restoration and use of cultural and historical monuments. Although the initiative group has developed a project for the functional use of the territory of the experimental block, it does not refer to the requirements of the current legislation for historical buildings and therefore there is no guarantee that new owners of monuments will fully preserve the architectural appearance of the buildings. I confess, it's not at all pleasant to me to speak loudly about this. Maybe we can somehow get out of this deadlock? In the meantime, we still have to hope and support the honorable citizen of Gyumri, the Italian Antonio Montalto, whose efforts and modest investments have been used for several years to acquire, restore and exemplarily use of some historical and architectural monuments in the same historical part of Gyumri.