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Shayzar Project		Photo Gallery
	Since the year 2002 a project of archaeological and historical investigations is being carried out at the castle of SHAYZAR province of Hama, progetto Shayzer : study and valorization of a fortified settlement in Bilad al- Sham. Shayzar project has been developed as part of an agreement between the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Syria and ca' Focsani university in Venice. This project was originally set up to gather new evidence on the character, origin and evolution of fortified settlement in the area in the Middle Ages, focusing on a single site which can be regarded as highly representative in many respects, the castle of Shayzar .

	In this early phase, funds for the Italian part had been allocated by the Ministero Affari Estery of Italy and by the Foundation Max Van Berchem, Geneva. The results of the architectural and archaeological research rose general awareness on the importance of this castle: They have shown the importance of this site in the history of fortified settlement in the area, but also the need to preserve this very important monument with an appropriate programme of conservative restoration . The castle the Shazyar, in fact, is one of the best surviving examples of Muslim military architecture in the Near East. Crusader castles of the area are relatively well known, while contemporary Muslim fortifications have more rarely attracted the attention of scholars. This may be partly consequence of the fact that Muslim castles have experienced a continuous occupation that had seriously affected their state of reservation. Shazyar represents an exception to this: thanks to an early abandonment, the fortified structures were only moderately altered, and the main components of the medieval fortification are still there. Monumental buildings are preserved at the site, although at the present in a very bad state of decay: they illustrate significantly the evolution of military architecture in the Muslim world from the 10th to the 14th centuries. Therefore, beside the architectural and archeological studies, the team working at Shayzar also carried out a series of technical studies to check the conservation conditions of the structures and to design a specific program for the consolidation, preservation and valorization of the site. The technical studies (structural analysis, analysis of the decay, analysis of the building materials, etc.) revealed that the castle is today in a state of advanced deterioration, the result of natural erosion, abandonment and neglect. The process of natural erosion (wind, rain, vegetation) is affecting the stability of the structures, with the constant loss of significant and monumental parts of the original fortification. In the past, the lack of financial resources for the magnitude of stabilization and conservation measures funds has prevented the local authority from undertaking effective conservation works so far. The castle of Shayzar has been listed among the 100 most endangered sites in the world Monuments Fund's 2006 list. The program for the conservation of the castle began in the year 2004 with a number of emergency stabilization interventions, thanks to the sponsorship of the Foundation Osmane Mounif AIDI the Syrian Directorate of Antiquities is also allocating an important budget for the restoration of the castle since the year 2004. The aim of this enlarged part of the project is that of preserving this important monument, and to prepare it for visitors. Shayzar is located on a major tourist road of Syria from Hama to Apamee, and, if appropriately developed for tourist fruition, it car be easily included in this itinerary. The program that the Italian team will be carrying out with the Foundation Aidi in the years 2007 2008 focuses on the emergency stabilization of the palace, the most important architectural complex located at the southern edge of the fortification. The work envisaged includes the stabilization, conservation, rehabilitation and opening to the public of this part. Nowadays, the palace cannot be entered and visited. A specific path will be prepared with didactic material, to guide the visitors to the palace through the site, while a system to access the palace will be installed. Funds : - General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, 2004-present. - Foreign Affairs Ministry, Republic of Itlay : 2002-present - Fondation Osmane Mounif AIDI : 2004-present. - Fondation Max van Berchem, Geneve: 2002-2004.