Italy's renowned restoration expertise could soon be called on to help one of the most mysterious and challenging sites in the world, the Forbidden City in China.
Experts from Florence University's architectural planning department, who have restored dozens of works of art in different parts of the globe, are now setting their sights on Beijing.
On Wednesday, representatives from the university, Tuscan regional authorities and several local firms met with the Deputy Director of the Forbidden City's Ancient Architecture Department, Jin Huan, and drew up an agreement for the project.
"The Forbidden City is most in need of interventions on wood, on the tiles, the mortar and some of the pictorial decorations," explained Stefano Bertocci of Florence University, who also met with Jin several days ago when the latter visited Florence.
The written accord has not yet been signed but is the latest in a series of agreements between Italian and Chinese experts, so is expected to go ahead.
"They basically want us to teach them our restoration and conservation techniques," said Bertocci, adding that the second part was particularly important.
While extensive work has already been carried out in the Forbidden City, this has tended to focus on restoring the most run-down sections, rather than preserving existing structures for the future. The Forbidden City is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world and was declared a World Heritage Site by the UN's cultural body, UNESCO, in 1987.
UNESCO has also registered it as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Construction on the Forbidden City, which is located in the heart of Beijing, began in 1406 and took 14 years to complete.
It is the world's largest palace complex at 720,000 square metres, and is surrounded by a six-meter deep moat and a ten-meter high wall.
The palace was the home of 24 emperors and was the country's political centre until 1912, when China's last emperor abdicated.
The complex was turned into a museum after 1924, when a coup launched by a local general forced the former emperor out of the palace.
