The OPD Higher Education School for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage (SAFS – Scuola di Alta Formazione e di Studio), established at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in 1978, awards a diploma equivalent to a single-cycle Master’s Degree in the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (LMR/02), in accordance with Ministerial Decree No. 87 of 26 May 2009.
The School offers five-year single-cycle programmes worth 300 academic credits. These combine theoretical instruction with practical and technical training carried out within the Institute’s laboratories.
The programmes are organised into specialised study pathways, known as Professional Training Programs (Italian Acronym PFP – percorso formativo professionalizzante). The choice of the professional training program is made at the time of application for admission: each year an international call for applications provides for admission to one or more training programs (selected on a rotating basis) and is open to a maximum of 10 students per year.
More than 60% of the total course hours are devoted to practical and technical training activities, all of which are carried out on artefacts that qualify as cultural heritage objects. Applied methodological training is further enhanced through field projects, internships and specialised seminars.
Attendance is compulsory. As a partial contribution towards training costs, students are required to pay an annual fee for each year of study, in accordance with arrangements established by the Directorate of the Higher Education School for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage.
Under recent legislation (Law No. 33 of 12 April 2022, Provisions on Simultaneous Enrolment in Two Higher Education Programmes), students may enrol concurrently in two degree programmes. The arrangements designed to facilitate students undertaking simultaneous enrolment, as provided for under Article 1 of the above-mentioned law, will be governed by specific measures issued by the Ministry of Culture.
Academic staff
The teaching staff consists primarily of the Institute’s own personnel. Teaching activities are also supported by specialists from public and private organisations and institutions engaged in research, protection, conservation and restoration activities.
List of teaching staff and courses for Academic Year 2025–2026:
- I semester: download document
- II semester: download document
Admission to the Degree Programme
Admission to the OPD Higher Education School is through an open international competition, announced each year by the Ministry of Culture, indicating the professional training programs for which one can apply.
Teaching Facilities
The programmes are based in Florence, at the Higher Education School for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage and the OPD conservation laboratories (Via degli Alfani 78), the conservation laboratories at the Fortezza da Basso (Viale Filippo Strozzi 1), and the Sala delle Bandiere at Palazzo Vecchio.
Governance and Academic Coordination
SAFS Director
Associate Directors
Heads of the Professional Training Programs (PFP)
PFP1 Mariarosa Lanfranchi
PFP2 Livia Gordini
PFP3 Marta Cimò
PFP4 Cinzia Ortolani
PFP5 Letizia Montalbano