First ever Kapampangan finishes art restoration course in Italian school

GUAGUA -- Franz Dominic Layug, son of Presidential Merit Awardee for Ecclesiastical Art Willy Layug, recently finished a year-long art restoration and conservation course at the prestigious Lorenzo de' Medici School (LdM) in Florence, Italy.

The young Layug is the first Kapampangan and arguably the only Filipino artist to finish a professional course in art restoration the said school. LdM specializes in the arts, such as studio art, fine arts, liberal arts, and language studies.

Layug flew to Italy last year to get actual working knowledge on art restoration from the best instructors and art restorers in Europe. He said that the knowledge would greatly help him in restoring local art treasures in Pampanga and the country.

Layug took up fresco and sculpture restoration subjects under the famed Italian art restorer Lorenzo Casamenti. Casamenti is the head of the Department for Restoration at the prestigious Lorenzo de' Medici Art Institute of Florence and a master of "more than 800 church restorations across Italy as well as Brazil, Argentina and Chile".

Like his father, the younger Layug is a sculptor with a penchant for religious and contemporary art subjects. He was encouraged by his father to take up restoration course in Italy as real and professional restorers not readily available in the country.

"We have a rich treasure trove of art, mostly religious art. Most people are oblivious on the proper care and restoration of religious art and even old buildings and churches. I hope to help in some way in the need to restore these artistic treasures," Layug said.

Layug finished his course along with foreign students from all across Europe. Layug is set to come home this week to work on an initial restoration project.

Published in the Sun.Star Pampanga newspaper on May 20, 2014.

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First ever Kapampangan finishes art restoration course in Italian school