Abstract/Estratto The Amiriya Madrasa of Radà is one of the most important and significant monuments of Yemen.
Constructed in 1504, it represents a jewel of Islamic art and architecture with its three built levels, 600 m² of tempera wall paintings and extensive, elaborate plaster decorations. It is notable for the balance achieved between the size of the structures and the refinement of the details. At the end of the 1970s, the monument was totally derelict and close to destruction. 

At that point, Selma Al Radi (a major figure in Middle Eastern archaeology) entered the scene. With tireless determination and buttressed by financial support from the governments of Yemen, the Netherlands and Italy, she managed in 22 years to return the Amirya Madrasa to its original splendor and save its place in the world's cultural and artistic heritage. In 2000, the CCA, Center for Archaeological Conservation, Rome, was asked to restore the wall paintings that decorate the Prayer Hall, as well as to train six Yemeni technicians how to maintain the wall paintings. 

Published by the CCA in Arabic, English and Italian at the end of the treatment, the book describes the Amiriya Project, documents the work phases, analyses the original working process and the final results obtained in the conservation of the cycle of wall paintings that adorn the Prayer Hall. The volume is accompanied by a catalogue of the decorative elements of the cycle and technical forms illustrating types of deterioration. 
The book was presented for the first time in June 2005 at Sana'à in the course of an international seminar organized in collaboration with the Italian embassy to Yemen, on the theme of the conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage. The seminar was attended by representatives of the major institutions involved in the field of conservation, training and enhancement, among which were ICCROM, UNESCO, and the Packard Humanities Institute