C O N T E X T 1 4 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 6 41 Vox pop Carla Pianese has been the IHBC’s branch and events support (BES) officer since March. This new role has been established to support all IHBC UK-based branches, volunteers and, where appropriate, partner networks as they deliver educational and related events, by assisting on training events that are planned, organised and delivered with the help of IHBC volunteers, officers, trustees and staff. Carla’s tasks include helping with technical support, training and event development both on the ground and virtually, by using digital tools and social media, to maximise the impact of the IHBC’s training, events and networks. She is also a part-time postgraduate student studying the MSc sustainable heritage programme at UCL, London. Who has been your greatest inspiration? I do not have any particular hero or individual that I especially look up to. However, my mother is an embroiderer, so I have grown up surrounded by stunning handmade artworks.When I enrolled at the Artistic High School (Aversa, near Caserta, Italy), I discovered the potential of my craft skills and I was inspired by my art history teacher, who is an architect, to consider a career in conservation. From many friends, family members, academics and colleagues I have learnt that a very determined person will always succeed. What has been your best idea? Deciding to undertake further training and education abroad. I started in 2012 after my conservation studies, where I went to Denmark as an intern at the National Museum of Denmark (preventive conservation programme). Later I was involved at ICCROM, initially as an intern within the disaster and risk management programme, and then as consultant supporting the organisation of the 2013 International Forum on Conservation Science. What would you like to have been if you had not become a conservationist? When I was a child, I wanted to become a vet. As an adult, I discovered that loving pets and animals in general is completely different from dealing with them or treating them in painful situations. I immediately changed my mind after assisting in a surgical operation on my cat when I was 12. I do still love animals. How do you reply when at a party someone asks what you do? Usually in a very evasive way, otherwise it may require 10 minutes to explain what I do. Everybody becomes very interested in what I do at the IHBC when I mention that the job involves travelling all over the UK. What is the biggest frustration in your job? Not having enough time in the day to accomplish everything, exacerbated by the struggle of being a student juggling with academic papers and a full-time job. What would you like to be doing in five years’ time? I would like to take more responsibility for the preservation and management of heritage assets, whether a building, a collection, an archaeological site or a landscape. What is your favourite building? The first that comes to mind is the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola in Naples. It is a wonderful neoclassical building with colonnades, similar to the Pantheon in Rome in some The Ducal Palace, Urbino
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