31. The restoration ofthe Probota The UNESCO project “Int Monastery in Romania Ignazio Valente and Maait Elo, UNESCO Project Office in las Palace of Culture, Pata Stefan cel Mate 1, 660 ls, Romani Faxs 440 322 15 920, Email: unprob@mai.ccisro UNESCO ps Incratonl Sapon ihe Kenton an Pres son othe Probts Monte” rtdinSerember 196 onde yh apne ‘Trust Fund for he Peervton ofthe Word Clr Mente in cousdaton with the Romanian goverment. The objet ofthe swaron is he robot Monastery, one of group ofwevenchurhesand momseres th eseir mura paintings in the northern part of Moldavia, which were included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 1993. The church of St. Nicolas in Probota was buile by Prince Petru Rares in 1530 and most probably the interior and exterior frescoes were executed around 1532, which make them amongthe oldest surviving, facade paintings in Moldavia, The objectives ofthe project are: 1) The restoration ‘of the interior and exterior wal paintings ofthe Probota church; 2) The repaitand ‘conservation of the structure ofthe church, inchuding the adjacent buildings and boundary walls; 3) Archaeological excavations in the area of the monastery with the aim of obtaining general stratigraphy of the site, followed by the conservation and presentation of the excavated structures of the monastery; and 4) The restoration and treatment of the iconostass (sce paper submitted by Ms, Brokerhot). This multidisciplinary project has been catried out combining Romanian and foreign expertise in different fields, with students involved in the restoration of the ‘mural paintings. The results achieved inside the church, afer the removal of the 19th-century overpsinting, and at the facade, after che removal of ime wash layers and mictoorganisms, are quite spectacular.