About Eurogloss
Eurogloss is a European network of art and architectural historians, archivists, archaeologists and digital specialists working on the technical language of early modern building sites. This page describes the Action itself; the glossary it produces is explorable through the Glossary, Map and Timeline of this platform.
Description of the Action
EUROGLOSS develops common strategies and establishes a comprehensive network in the field of Construction History, bringing together technical knowledge relating to historic building sites and fostering collaboration among the participating countries. Its principal output is a glossary of technical terms used in Early Modern construction processes, specifically those of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, at European court residences, with particular attention to records and drawings produced by craftsmen and artisans.
The glossary is produced in English, with AI-generated draft translations for participants from the countries involved. These translations are adapted to the linguistic and cultural contexts of each country, creating multiple language versions. The glossary is integrated into a comprehensive digital platform centralising data on construction techniques, materials, craftsmen and technical terminology.
The platform improves access to dispersed archival documents, supports research efficiency, reduces the need for travel to physical archives, and provides useful knowledge for conservation professionals, heritage authorities and local communities.
Background
Historical knowledge concerning construction techniques, materials and technical terminology remains dispersed across archives, regions and languages. This fragmentation makes it difficult to compare evidence, trace the circulation of technical vocabulary, and reconstruct building practices across early modern Europe.
From the seventeenth century onwards, increasingly complex building operations were divided into specialised tasks and entrusted to skilled workers, craftsmen and administrators. The resulting vocabulary combined learned architectural terminology, administrative language and local or regional building-site expressions.
EUROGLOSS addresses this problem by creating a shared framework and a digital platform in which historical terms can be connected to their documentary sources, places, dates, buildings, materials, techniques and professional actors.
Objectives
Create the Glossary
Produce an open-access glossary of the technical terms used on European court construction sites, first in English and then adapted to the language and cultural context of each participating country.
Connect Words with Practices
Tie every term to the workmanship, materials, tools and trades it names, so that vocabulary can be read against the building practice it describes.
Integrate Archival Evidence
Bring dispersed archival records — site reports, technical drawings and craftsmen's accounts — into a single comparable framework instead of leaving them scattered across regions and repositories.
Trace Time and Place
Anchor each attested form to the document, the place and the date it comes from, making the circulation of construction vocabulary across early modern Europe visible.
Support Conservation
Give conservation professionals and heritage authorities precise knowledge of historical materials and techniques, so restoration work can proceed with greater accuracy.
Build a European Network
Foster durable collaboration across countries and disciplines, with particular attention to Early Career Investigators and to researchers from Inclusiveness Target Countries.
Research coordination
Coordinate information and integrate data; establish best practices and collaborative networks; enhance conservation methodologies and public engagement; promote interdisciplinary research and long-term opportunities.
Capacity building
Foster knowledge exchange; promote gender equity and inclusiveness; build research capacity in Inclusiveness Target Countries; expand network capacity through digital engagement; advance innovation and interoperability.
Get Involved
Are you interested in taking part?
EUROGLOSS welcomes scholars and heritage or digital specialists working on historical construction terminology and court residences. Participation runs through COST: the Action page lists the Working Groups and the current Management Committee, and applications to join a Working Group are made through e-COST.
Action Details
- COST Action
- CA24102
- Official title
- A Glossary of Technical Construction Vocabulary in 17th–18th Century European Court Residences (EUROGLOSS)
- CSO approval date
- 19 May 2025
- Start date
- 21 October 2025
- End date
- 20 October 2029
Action Contacts
- Action Chair
- Dr Valentina BurgassiPolitecnico di Torino
- Action Vice Chair
- Dr Valeria VanesioUniversity of Malta
Activities
All activitiesEUROGLOSS develops through conferences, workshops, Working Group meetings, training, research missions and collaborative activities organised across participating countries. These events contribute to the selection of sources, the development of common methods, and the construction of the multilingual glossary and digital platform.
conference
Digital Tools, Artificial Intelligence and Cultural Information
9–10 June 2026 — Turin, Italy
We are pleased to invite you to take part in EUROGLOSS, a two-day workshop dedicated to digital tools, artificial intelligence, and the representation and management of cultural information. The event will take place on 9–10 June 2026 in Turin, at the Castello del Valentino, Sala Ciribini, with the possibility of joining online. The programme includes presentations, round tables, live demonstrations, and a visit to the Archivio di Stato di Torino – Sezioni Riunite, with a presentation of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century construction documents from the Savoy royal courts.
Read moreconference
Methodologies for Reading Historical Construction Sources: a Perspective for EUROGLOSS
22–23 April 2026 — Turin, Italy
EUROGLOSS Seminar, organised by Valentina Burgassi and Leone Carlo Ghoddousi. The programme for the EUROGLOSS Seminar of 22–23 April is now available. We are very much looking forward to welcoming you all to Turin and to sharing these two days of discussion and exchange together.
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Researchers
- Valeria Vanesio