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Research, protection and evaluation of Sicilian and Mediterranean marine cultural heritage
Get PDFUnderwater archaeology in the Mediterranean should be based on a comprehensive, deep knowledge
of a wide context of cultural environment. It is impossible to carry out an in-depth study of a
specific wreck or site without having an overall cultural as well as historical perspective. It is, in fact,
quite clear to everybody that even the most faraway shores of the Mediterranean were connected
by means of a dense network of sea routes based on a rich trade throughout the centuries.
But underwater archaeology also means the chance to understand the past environment due to the
possibility of detecting ancient sea shores which nowadays are found below sea level.
Today underwater archaeology also means deep sea research in extraterritorial waters. This aspect
of underwater archaeological research is deeply connected with legal aspects that, in the framework
of the recently approved UNESCO draft regarding the protection of underwater cultural heritage,
should be planned according to international cooperation.
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Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
Sicily has a great role in Mediterranean underwater archaeology because of its history and heritage,
but also because Regional Government plays an important role in international debate in this field
and because in Sicily a great impulse has been given to underwater archaeology research and cultural
evaluation through the Soprintendenza del Mar
Heritage asset in Italian local governements
No full textCulture has always been an important factor for economic development and local attractiveness in European regions and cities. In Italy, there are over 4,100 museums, 1,400 theatres, 11,400 libraries, 6,000 archaeological sites, 367 archaeological areas, 85,000 National Trust churches, and 40,000 historical residences, whose property, traditionally, is entrusted to public administration, and local entities in particular. For this reason it would be particularly interesting to analyze the Italian case in order to assess the political and institutional changes of the cultural public sector which have made it necessary to introduce governmental criteria and adopt methods and instrumentation marked by a logic of economic rationality in the governance of cultural heritage. The present contribution proposes a definition of the political-institutional context in which the Italian cultural “services” are allocated along with an interpretational scheme of analysis regarding the variables relevant to their governance. It also analyzes in depth the dimension of the cultural sector in Italy, in comparison with other European countries, and the effects of the present financial crisis on the amount of resources devoted to Italian local cultural assets
Study of alteration and degradation products of a Roman marble sarcophagus located in the medieval cloister of the old st Cosimato’s Convent, now the new "Regina Margherita Hospital” (Rome)
Get PDFOptical and SEM-EDS microscopy, FT-IR and mFT-IR spectroscopy investigations have been applied to the study of alteration and degradation products of a Roman sarcophagus located in the medieval cloister of St Cosimato’s Convent, now the new “Regina Margherita Hospital” (Rome) before restoration work.
This scientific analysis was performed in order to compare it with a diagnosis report based on the restorer’s expertise. The sarcophagus is small and consists of a single block of fine-grained marble covered by a thick pink patina. The results obtained from this diagnostic investigation, allow us to draw important conclusions about the state of conservation of this archaeological artefact. The main components found in the samples analyzed are: black crust, calcium oxalate, organic matter due to recent conservation treatment, calcite, iron-oxides and coloured earths. In particular, the combined
used of petrographical and mFT-IR analysis provided useful insights into the polishing and consolidation processes of archaeological artefacts
The traditional, the innovative, the ephemeral: conception, realization, intervention in contemporary art
Get PDFThe traditional, the innovative, the ephemeral: conception, realization, intervention in contemporary art. One must consider the traditional, the innovative and also the ephemeral related to the artistic intentions and thus to the interventions on works of contemporary art, for which the concepts of originality and authenticity do not always correspond. The Brandian vision and point of view do not completely resolve the problematics relative to restoration and conservation: artists realize their artifacts with the intention of undermining tradition or, however, of interpreting it in an unusual way. There are, therefore, cases when a diagnostic-analytical and conservative intervention is possible correspondently to the different and numerous typologies of the materials (poor, plastic, industrial) and techniques (collage, enamel on rubber foam, paint on textile or plastic, neon). A vocation for the ephemeral can be transformed into the adoption of deteriorated materials or into the realization of works of conceptual art and net-art. Some case studies are treated in the comparison of art works of different age. The solutions to the aforementioned problematics are offered and the importance of the involvement of the historical-technical experts, authors and manufacturers of the materials used in the artifacts is highlighted. Finally the procedure of intervention cannot be the same for all works of contemporary art. One must employ a methodology based on the critical study, not only of the materials used but also of the philosophy and creative conceptual intentions of the artist
The façades along the Cassaro in Palermo: historical-building characterization, degradation, restoration norms for interventions
Get PDFThe good-will to operate in the old town privileging the history and the maintenance of historic buildings, is manifest in this study on the Vittorio Emanuele monumental street, the foundation axis of Palermo, and it’s architectural degraded and disfigured fronts.
The search concerning sixty civil buildings is based initially on a cognitive process that includes historical analysis, geometric and dimensional survey, investigation on constituent materials and decay systems, in relation to environmental or anthropic causes.
The study includes a design proposal that, according to the individuality of cases, it would represent an intervention code about some recurrent critical aspects on which it’s possible to intervene only applying codified procedures. The proposed designs show so an application to concrete cases, not
abdicating to involve physical and economic urban environment: the re-qualification of building materials and architectural language would respect the historical image without depressing the market demands
Achilles in the age of steel: Greek Myth in modern popular music
Get PDFFrom the Sixties until today, the presence of Greek Mythology in so-called “popular music” appears to be far more frequent and significant than one could imagine. Nevertheless, at the beginning such references are rather generic, loose and even ironical; on the other side, in the Eighties and afterwards, particularly in the framework of certain music genres, entire concept albums are inspired to the deeds of Achilles and Odysseus, or by the tragic vicissitudes of the house of Atreus. Special attention is dedicated to the character of Achilles, who, as a prototype of the modern “super hero”, is somehow close to the sensibility and the expectations of contemporary youth cultures and their associated media
Diagnosis and digitization of Dantesque Code “Phillipps 9589”
Get PDFThis work concerns the study of Dante’s Code, illuminated on parchment, which is preserved at the Library of “Centro Dantesco dei Frati Minori Conventuali” in Ravenna. This Code is well-known by the international scientific Community as Phillipps 9589 and its notoriety is not only due to the fact that it’s the only Dante’s Palimpsest, but also because it preserves, at the scripto superior, one of the older witness of that branch of handwritten tradition of Dante’s Commedia named “Tradition a”, the so-called “old Vulgate”. The research, worked out for several stages, had aimed to examine the technical-diagnostic aspects, in particular the general purposes had been: – evaluation about the state of preservation; – materials characterization; – improvement of the legibility of Dante’s text and Palimpsest reading; – evaluation about the preservative environment; – code digitization suitable for a intranet and internet use. In this connection, the following non-destructive diagnostic techniques bad been employed, also related to a documentary aim: – image analysis videomicroscope; – spectrophotometric colorimetry; – X-ray fluorescence (XRF); – Multispectral Imaging System (MuSIS); – environmental monitoring Instruments (thermohygrometer, illuminometer, aerosol spectrometer PTS e PM10)
The Palermo Capuchin Catacombs Project: a multidisciplinary approach to the study of a modern Mummy Collection (ca 1600-1900)
Get PDFIn this paper we present a multidisciplinary project for the study of the present conditions, history, bioanthropological features and conservation status of a large collection of modern human mummies, kept in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (Sicily, Italy). Due to the large amount of spontaneously and anthropogenically mummified human bodies, and to an abundant presence of associated artefacts, this collection provides a unique opportunity to carry out a large multidisciplinary survey useful for a thorough biocultural understanding of these remains, a conservation plan, and testing of new restoration protocols
Study of capillary absorption kinetics by X-ray CT imaging techniques: a survey on sedimentary rocks of Sicily
Get PDFSedimentary rocks are natural porous materials with a great percent of microscopic interconnected
pores: they contain fluids, permitting their movement on macroscopic scale. Generally, these rocks
present porosity higher then metamorphic rocks. Under certain points of view, this feature represents
an advantage; on the other hand, this can constitute an obstacle for cultural heritage applications,
because the porosity grade can lead to a deterioration of the lapideous monument for water
capillary absorption.
In this paper, CT (Computerized Tomography) image techniques are applied to capillary absorption
kinetics in sedimentary rocks utilized for the Greek temples as well as baroc monuments, respectively
located in western and southeastern Sicily. Rocks were sampled near the archaeological
areas of Agrigento, Segesta, Selinunte and Val di Noto. CT images were acquired at different times,
before and after the water contact, using image elaboration techniques during the acquisition as well
as the post-processing phases. Water distribution into porous spaces has been evaluated on the
basis of the Hounsfield number, estimated for the 3-D voxel structure of samples. For most of the
considered samples, assumptions based on Handy model permit to correlate the average height of
the wetting front to the square root of time. Stochastic equations were introduced in order to
describe the percolative water behavior in heterogeneous samples, as the Agrigento one.
Before the CT acquisition, an estimate of the capillary absorption kinetics has been carried out by
the gravimetric method. A petrographical characterization of samples has been performed by stereomicroscope
observations, while porosity and morphology of porous have been surveyed by SEM
(Scanning Electron Microscope) images. Furthermore, the proposed methods have also permitted
to define penetration depth as well as distribution uniformity of materials used for restoration and
conservation of historical monuments