Architecture School Students and Faculty Bring Ruined Medieval Italian Church Back to Life
During their Fall 2024 semester study in Rome, second-year Master of Science in Historic Preservation (MSHP) students were led by Professor Paolo Vitti, David P. Manfredi Professor of the Practice, on a preservation project in the island of Sardinia. The studio focused on documenting and creating a conservation strategy for the ruined historic church of Sant’Andrea in the town of Orani, originally built in the early 16th century. With the guidance of Professor Selena Anders and the aid of professionals from the University of Cagliari, the students surveyed the existing conditions at the site, created a digital record of the ruined structure and proposed a reconstruction plan. Earlier this year, the Sant’Andrea project drew an unprecedented $1 million reconstruction gift from the Regional Government of Sardinia.
“This would not have been possible without the sponsorship of the Michael Christopher Duda Center for Preservation, Resilience, and Sustainability and the dedication of our students and faculty. Restoring neglected historic churches is a way to reconnect local communities with their spiritual roots, reactivate local traditional practices in architecture and construction and encourage local economic development. The powerful message that Notre Dame’s Historic Preservation Program conveyed to the Municipality of Orani has already had a broader impact. The learning method followed in the Sant Andrea project is being used as a model to launch a School of Advanced Training in Preservation there, with a focus on heritage preservation and reconstruction in Sardinia”. Vitti said.
The success of our Preservation, Resilience and Sustainability program has spawned further opportunities for our students in the study and reconstruction of projects during their semester of study in Europe. The third forthcoming such studio effort will select a church in Burgundy, France in the fall of 2026.
In other MSHP news, Associate Professor and Director of the Duda Center Paul Kapp has received the James Marston Fitch Award, the most important recognition for sustained leadership and excellence in preservation in the United States, given by the National Council for Preservation Education.
Originally published by at architecture.nd.edu on December 18, 2025.