Silvia Vettori

Italian National Research Council | CNR · Institute for the Conservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage ICVBC

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 4000 reads, 554 recommendations and 1 citation; we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 3500 reads, 499 recommendations and 1 citation; we are very happy with this result.

The study of ancient architectural restoration has recently gained attention in the field of archaeometry thanks to a new sensitivity for the long biographies of human artifacts. The paper focuses on ancient repairs documented in the column shafts of the Monumental Nymphaeum of Tripolis ad Maeandrum (Denizli, Turkey). Bonding mortars used to hold t...

Graphic vandalism causes detrimental effects on architectural stone surfaces. Among the cleaning methods developed in the last decades, laser cleaning showed considerable effectiveness but the available equipment still lacks full adaptability for the use on site, while the cleaning process is time-consuming for the site work requirements. In this p...

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 3000 reads, 456 recommendations and 1 citation; we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 450 recommendations, 2948 reads and 1 citation; we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 2500 reads, 421 recommendations and 1 citation; we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 400 recommendations, 2389 reads and 1 citation; we are very happy with this result.

Biorestoration, thanks to its affinity to green chemistry, has a large application in stone conservation, but most of the studies performed are focused on the use of bacteria for bio-cleaning purposes. Few studies were conducted on bio-consolidants and their long-lasting properties. The aim of this research involves the effectiveness of green bio-c...

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 2000 reads, 350 recommendations and 1 citation, we are very happy with this result.

Absolute dating of plasters and mortars clearly represents a key information to study important structures and buildings that may have undergone a difficult story starting from their construction. This is for instance the case of the architectures in the archaeological site of Hierapolis (Denizli, Turkey). However, when discussing about the possibi...

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 1500 reads, we are very happy with this result.

The San Carlo Colossus, known as San Carlone, is a monument constituted by an internal stone pillar support to which a wrought iron structure is attached. Embossed copper sheets are fixed to the iron structure to give the final shape to the monument. After more than 300 years of outdoor exposure, this statue represents an opportunity for an in-dept...

The monitoring of stone alteration represents a key factor in the knowledge and prediction of the status of conservation of building stones in the urban framework. A continuous monitoring requires a non-destructive analytical approach and, possibly, a simple, low-cost and effective tool to study the decay processes. Previous studies demonstrated th...

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 200 recommendations and more than 1200 reads in about two month, we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 1000 reads in few time, we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 800 reads in few time, we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 700 reads, we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 500 reads in few days, we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 100 recommendations in about one month, we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 300 reads in few days, we are very happy with this result.

Thanks to the members of RG and the work carried out by the Research Team, this paper reached 50 recommendations and 100 reads in few days, we are very happy with this result.

Nantokite (CuCl) locked inside subsurface micro-pits has been recognised as the driving force to the form of corrosion called bronze disease. The use of the traditional corrosion inhibitor benzotriazole is questioned because of toxicity. So there is a need for alternative conservation treatments. This work is focused on the experimental design to t...

The masterpiece this work deals with is the tomb of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino, completed by Michelangelo around 1533 in the New Sacristy of Medici chapel in Florence. Sacristy underwent an extensive restoration (2013–2020) and Lorenzo’s sarcophagus was addressed in the last phase (2019–2020). The unique history and the mediocre state of co...

The present work comprises the application of a multi-analytical strategy based on the combination of several non-destructive and micro-invasive methodologies for the examination of the glazed tiles from the tomb of Benozzo Federighi made by Luca della Robbia. The marble tomb is framed by flat glazed terracotta tiles, each ornamented with naturalis...

During the last restoration campaign of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence (Italy), the assessment of the state of conservation of external surfaces was performed, with a multi-analytical approach, in order to support the conservation and restoration treatments. Black crusts, red staining, sulphation, and organic patinas were identified. Mo...

While scheduled maintenance is a common practice for the institutions devoted to safeguarding and conserving cultural heritage assets, the prediction of the decay process on stone surfaces is a new challenge in the field. Monitoring is the first, essential step to empower predictive conservation, and technical solutions involving sensors and measur...

The paper focuses on the strong connections between natural resources, environment, and urban development in the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city of Hierapolis of Phrygia (Pamukkale, Turkey). The ancient city was founded on a travertine terrace crossed by an active fault, responsible for impressive geothermal phenomena, i.e., fl owing of therm...

A garden is a complexity of components with very different evolution and decay rates (cit.) (Dezzi Bardeschi M, Restauro: punto e da capo. Frammenti per una (impossibile) teoria, a cura di V. Locatelli, 8a Edizione. Franco Angeli, Milano, 2009). In historical gardens, artworks are constituted by heterogeneous materials such as natural and artificia...

This paper presents the study of selected painted fragments from different contexts of Ostia Antica city, dating between 2nd century BC and the end of the 1st century AD. The aim is to identify the raw materials used and to understand the execution techniques through a non-invasive protocol including techniques based either on multiband imaging (Vi...

The present paper investigates the effectiveness of di-ammonium hydrogen phosphate (DAP) as a consolidation treatment for artificially weathered lime-based mortars. Laboratory prepared samples were exposed to repeated freeze-thaw cycles and then subjected to 2.0 M DAP solution via 24 h poultice. The microstructural variations due to freeze-thaw cyc...

In urban environments, degradation processes affecting both natural and artificial carbonate materials commonly result in the formation of sulphate-based deposits (i.e., black crusts). Hyperspectral techniques may provide ready-to-use information on the degree of sulphation of carbonate stone, hence helping to monitor the conservation state of carb...

The paper investigates the use of di-ammonium hydrogen phosphate (DAP) as a possible consolidation treatment for lime-based mortars. Different DAP concentrations are proposed, additional post-treatment limewater application is used on some specimens. The results of application were evaluated in terms of mechanical property modification (dynamic ela...

The Pietra Alberese is a marly limestone belonging to the Ligurian series (Monte Morello Formation of Eocene age). It is a material rarely mentioned in the historical Florentine architecture because the Pietraforte, the stone of the Medieval Florence and the Pietra Serena, the stone of the Renaissance, were the main lithotypes commonly used in thos...

Architectural surfaces, façades and monuments made of stone are subject to alteration/decay phenomena due to natural or anthropic agents. Salts, black crust formations, biodegradation and graphic vandalism (writing, drawing and inscription) are responsible for detrimental effects as they can accelerate the stone decay leading to considerable loss i...

Giotto’s Bell Tower is known as one of the most important religious buildings of the 14th century in Florence (Italy). Its different construction phases have been well documented over time. The possibility of analyzing mortars collected from different construction phases, allowed us a complete chemical, mineralogical, petrographic, physical and mec...

The coastal sight towers and the defensive fortresses were in the past distinctive elements of the coastal landscape. They were distributed in particular along the northern coast of the Mediterranean and were built for sighting purposes from the XVIth century against the raids of barbarian pirates who had their bases in the Maghreb coast. A mineral...

After the cleaning procedures carried out during a recent restoration work, the Matera Cathedral’s (UNESCO World Heritage Site) façade needed the application of a water repellent treatment. Aqueous emulsions of silanes/siloxanes, also in a mixture with acrylic polymer and an alkyl/alkoxysilanic resin (by BEL CHIMICA S.r.l. and PHASE restauro S.r.l)...

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Firenze is externally decorated with white marble, green serpentinite and red limestones. These latter are constituted by marly and ammonitic limestones, coming from different quarries. These can be discriminated to the naked eye, but it is not possible to assign the different limestones to the quarries of...

The archaeological site of Hierapolis (Denizli, Turkey), one of the great Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine cities of southwestern Turkey, protected by UNESCO since 1988, was built in the third century B.C. Even if damaged several times by earthquakes, it has survived for millennia. During antiquity, Hierapolis was a famous pilgrimage destination, t...

This paper presents the results of archaeometric and archaeological study of the fragments of painted plaster discovered during the recent archaeological investigations inside the Church of the Apostle Philip in Hierapolis of Phrygia, one of the great Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine cities of southwestern Turkey (Pamukkale, Denizli Province). The...

The dark colour of some excavated architectural elements of the Ploutonion, in the archaeological site of Hierapolis of Phrygiae (Turkey), was investigated. The Ploutonion, visited by numerous ancient writers, such as Cicero and Strabo, was a sanctuary dedicated to Pluto and Kore, constructed during the early Imperial period above the entrance to a...

The interest about the extent of the polychromy of ancient artefacts has increased in the last 10 years, increasing our knowledge on classical art, still often perceived as perfectly white. As a consequence, the development of methodologies allowing the detection and interpretation of the traces of colour remaining on the surfaces of archaeological...

Red stains are a common discolouration of the stone cultural heritage all over the world. These are very difficult to remove and little is known about reddish pigmentation. Numerous red stains were mapped on the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence, one of the most important monuments in Italy. This paper is focused on red stains of marble stone...

An interdisciplinary analytical campaign was carried out on the exterior walls of the Santa Maria della Bruna and Sant’Eustachio Cathedral in Matera. Large areas of these walls have become darkened and the main objective was to evaluate the state of conservation of the stone material (a very porous, organogenic limestone called “Pietra di Matera”),...

The archaeological site of Hierapolis (Denizli province, Turkey) is unique in terms of the conservation of marbles and travertines. Environmental factors (i.e. interaction with thermal waters, high thermal stress, CO2 degassing) and geological aspects (presence of seismic faults, frequent earthquakes, formation of travertine) play a fundamental rol...

The restoration of architectural monuments constituted a common practice in the ancient Mediterranean world and the use of artificial binders in repairing blocks is attested both by literary sources and archaeological evidence. However, the knowledge on the use of these ancient binders and their components is limited, due to the shortness and indef...

An experimental approach in order to investigate the possibility that some Italian limestones were used for the production of Roman Cement is proposed. Three types of Pietra Alberese, a marly limestone used since Roman times for the production of “lime” in Tuscany (Italy), were selected. By burning of these stones, specimens of binders were realize...

Stone-built Cultural Heritage is subjected to decay in urban environment over the centuries, due to surface interaction and reaction with natural atmospheric agents and, particularly in the last centuries, air pollutants. The Short wave Infrared (SWIR) characterisation of stone surface through portable instruments is attracting increasing interest...

Fired bricks have been used for construction purposes in China for at least two thousand years. Since the mid-19th century the manufacture of bricks has shifted from an old to a new system. The unique Chinese blue brick has been gradually replaced by the European red brick and other modern products. This study focuses on Shanghai as a representativ...

This paper investigates the influence of natural organic materials on the properties of traditional mortars. Mortar specimens produced with two binders (natural hydraulic lime and aged lime putty) with the same sand and three different organic additives (linseed oil, brown sugar and cow’s milk, with different percentages) were created. The colour v...

The most frequently used material in Florentine Renaissance architecture was Pietra Serena, a sandstone that nowadays is found in a quite satisfactory state of conservation. The reason for this is that architects and stone cutters in the past made careful selections of the materials they employed. This conscientious picking out was very important b...

A portable radiometer (ASD-FieldSpec FP Pro spectroradiometer), which continuously and rapidly acquires punctual reflectance spectra in the 350-2500 nm spectral range, has been recently proposed as non-destructive and non-invasive technology for detecting gypsum and other materials (inorganic as well as organic) on surfaces of historical buildings...

The possibility of using high spectral and spatial resolution remote sensing technologies is becoming increasingly important in the monitoring of soil degradation processes. A high spatial resolution hyperspectral dataset was acquired with the airborne Hyper SIM-GA sensor from Selex Galileo, simultaneously with ground soil spectral signatures and s...

Pietra Serena is one of the materials more used in Florentine architecture. It is a sandstone that outcrops in the hills north of the city in the municipality of Fiesole and it has been employed mainly for ornamental purposes. This litotype belongs to the the Macigno Formation (Oligocene Upper- Miocene Lower) which consists of beds of turbiditic sa...

In the recent past, a wide range of protective products (in most cases, synthetic polymers) have been applied to the surfaces of ancient buildings/artefacts to preserve them from alteration [1]. The lack of a detailed mapping of the permanence and efficacy of these treatments, in particular when applied on large surfaces such as building facades, m...

A portable hyperspectral device (ASD-FieldSpec FR Pro) has been employed for the characterization of alterations affecting the marble facade of the Santa Maria Novella church (XIII cent.) in Florence (Italy). The ASD-FieldSpec FR Pro collects the reflectance spectra of a selected target area (about 1.5 cm2). The spectra of calcite, gypsum and other...