E-RIHS, European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science, is the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) that offers public and private researchers and professionals access to the most advanced techniques for studying cultural heritage in order to expand and improve its interpretation, conservation and appreciation in an interdisciplinary context where natural sciences and humanities complement each other.

E-RIHS has developed over time thanks to more than twenty years of experience based on projects financed by the European framework programmes for research and innovation, and coordinated by Italy, with the leading role of the National Research Council (CNR).

E-RIHS brings together facilities and laboratories across Europe, accessible through a single entry point — the Catalogue of Services — and organised into four integrated platforms:

ARCHLAB, with its physical and digital archives of samples, reference materials, restoration reports;

FIXLAB, which includes large-scale facilities, synchrotrons, particle accelerators, neutron laboratories for the study of mobile works of art or samples;

MOLAB, consisting of mobile instruments travelling to museums and archaeological sites for the study of unmovable objects through non-invasive multi-diagnostic in situ techniques;

DIGILAB, with online access to digital data generated by ARCHLAB, FIXLAB and MOLAB integrated with digital tools for the creation of new knowledge.

E-RIHS ERIC, as an intergovernmental organisation, brings together eleven founding member countries – Cyprus, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom – and is set to welcome the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) as a permanent observer.

Thanks to the support of the Fondazione CR Firenze and the role of the National Research Council which leads E-RIHS at European and national level, the E-RIHS ERIC headquarters is hosted in Italy, in Florence, at Manifattura Tabacchi.

This headquarters is the driving force behind the interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research activities of E-RIHS. It plays a central role in coordinating access to cutting-edge laboratories throughout Europe, promoting advanced training for students, scholars, and professionals, as well as fostering internationalization and engaging with the local community.