In December 2025, the Heritage Science Group of the National Institute of Optics (CNR-INO) took part in the Annual Symposium of the National Institute of Optics, contributing to the Highlights Session with a presentation dedicated to ongoing and upcoming research on wall painting diagnostics.

During the session, Antonina Chaban presented “ERC Starting Grant: Advancing Novel Optical Methods for Wall Paintings”, introducing the newly funded ERC Starting Grant HeRiDe – Advancing Heritage Science Procedures for Depth-Resolved Condition Risk Assessment of Wall Paintings, to be kicked off in 2026. The presentation retraced the scientific groundwork and previous research projects that laid the foundation for the ERC proposal, developed at CNR-INO in close collaboration with the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD), Florence.

The presentation also outlined the future research roadmap, including continued upgrades of optical instrumentation, the strengthening of Florence–Pozzuoli joint scientific activities and the expansion of national and international collaborations aimed at advancing optical diagnostics for wall painting conservation.

The presentation slides will be available soon on Zenodo, and further news on this research line will follow.