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Hasan Andrea Abou Saida
Cultural Heritage Conservation Technician
Specialising in the conservation and digitisation of library, archival, paper, parchment and photographic heritage.
2018
three-year professional qualification completed at Cr.Forma
14.000
archaeological drawings on transparent sheets in the principal digitisation project
10 badges
Dicolab – Cultura al Digitale professional development programme
PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
Materials, method and technology.
My training began through direct work with books, documents and historical materials. I have progressively combined this conservation background with IT expertise, digitisation, metadata creation and the organisation of digital collections.
The result is a profile capable of understanding both the physical requirements of the original and the process needed to transform it into a reliable, well-described and accessible digital resource.
EXPERIENCE
Practical training and institutional projects
Key stages of my work with library, archival and museum heritage.
2026
Archaeological documentation
CSA ScpA · Soprintendenza ABAP Milano
High-resolution digitisation of approximately 14,000 archaeological drawings on transparent sheets, quality control, metadata creation, protective housing and conservation protocols.
2015–2017
Library and documentary collections
Biblioteca Statale di Cremona
Two training placements working with paper, parchment, archival and photographic materials, including the preparation of condition records.
2016
500 historical drawings
Comune e Archivio di Stato di Cremona
Placement within a project to conserve, catalogue, restore and enhance the drawings of the Cimitero Monumentale.
2016
Museum exhibition installation
Museo del Violino di Cremona
Preparation and handling of library and documentary objects for the exhibition on Janello Torriani.
SPECIALIST TRAINING
Cr.Forma · Cremona
2014–2018
Three-year professional qualification in the conservation of library, archival, paper, parchment and photographic cultural heritage.
Final thesis
Realdo Colombo’s De re anatomica (1559)
Research, analysis, diagnosis and conservation-restoration treatment of a sixteenth-century anatomy volume.
Classical education
Five-year diploma from the Liceo Classico “M. G. Vida” in Cremona: Latin, Ancient Greek, history, philosophy and art history as the foundation of a historical and philological approach.
THE THESIS AS A METHOD
From the original object to professional practice
The work on the De re anatomica brought together research, diagnostics, treatment planning and conservation practice. It remains a methodological reference for examining objects and documenting each stage of work.
CONSERVATION SKILLS
Understanding materials, recognising risks, intervening with care
Materials and bindings
Paper, parchment, photographs, archival documents, printed books and manuscripts; Coptic, Romanesque, Renaissance and modern bindings.
Examination and diagnostics
Visual examination, raking light, UV and IR; pH assessment, solubility testing, photographic documentation and interpretation of deterioration.
Treatments and prevention
Surface cleaning, washing and deacidification where appropriate, paper lining, reversible materials, condition records, handling and protective housing.
DIGITISATION AND DIGITAL HUMANITIES
From image capture to digital preservation
WORKFLOW
End-to-end digitisation
Preparation · capture · quality control
Organisation of activities from handling the original to delivery of the results.
DATA
Metadata and cataloguing
Dublin Core · ISAD(G) · TEI/XML
Description, indexing and connection of images with information about the heritage materials.
SYSTEMS
Digital Library
Access · organisation · use
Structuring digital collections with close attention to long-term preservation.
CONTEXT
PND and interoperability
MiC principles · Open Data · Data Space
Knowledge of the Italian national framework and of integration between systems and sources.
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Dicolab – Cultura al Digitale
A 2026 programme dedicated to the digital transformation of cultural heritage, with ten badges completed.
Digital capture
Preliminary and operational stages, equipment, image characteristics and recovery of legacy digitisation.
Metadata
Description, recovery from existing sources, enhancement and preservation of digital heritage.
Digital Libraries and interoperability
From the library to the Data Space, Open Data and integration between systems.
ITALIAN
native language
ENGLISH
technical and academic texts
LATIN AND ANCIENT GREEK
classical education
CHINESE
currently studying
RELATED 01
Projects
Five case studies covering conservation, digitisation and exhibition installation.
RELATED 02
Services for institutions and collections
Activities and ways of working tailored to the needs of the collection.
RELATED 03
Research and heritage
Engagement with sources, the Antro’s historic library and the transmission of cultural memory.
Would you like to discuss a professional collaboration?
Tell me about the collection, its context and the outcome you would like to achieve.