Multianalytical Approaches Applied to Conservation and Restoration Strategies in Cultural Heritage

A special issue of Heritage (ISSN 2571-9408).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 785

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DiBEST), University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
2. National Research Council of Italy—Institute on Membrane Technology (CNR—ITM), Rende, Italy
Interests: cultural heritage; conservation; stone materials; archaeometry; environment; degradation processes; consolidants and protective coatings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DiBEST), University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
Interests: microanalytical techniques; laser ablation ICP-MS; provenance; obsidian; degradation of stone; mortars
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DiBEST), University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
Interests: archaeometry; cultural heritage; archaeological obsidians; non-destructive analytical methods; X-ray fluorescence; provenance studies; raw materials; ancient glasses and ceramics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The conservation and restoration of cultural heritage, both in outdoor and indoor conditions, is becoming increasingly complex due to many concomitant factors including environmental pollution and climate change. The acceleration of degradation processes, as well as the growing awareness of the value of cultural heritage as a resource to be protected and handed down to future generations, makes a multi-analytical and multi-disciplinary approach necessary to define suitable, effective, sustainable and long-lasting restoration and conservation strategies. Furthermore, the deepened knowledge of the ancient materials provided by analytical techniques (e.g., SEM-EDS, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, ICP-MS, FT-IR, Raman) supplies important information about provenance, composition, and microstructures, and the potential degradation processes affecting them; this is useful in defining the suitable products and strategies to apply.

This Special Issue is focused on, but not limited to, recent studies where analytical techniques have been crucial in the conservation and restoration of ancient materials. Specifically, those materials which have been used as part of our cultural heritage, such as mortars, glass, pigments, stones, and metals.

We welcome both practical and methodological contributions.

Dr. Natalia Rovella
Prof. Dr. Donatella Barca
Dr. Anna Maria De Francesco
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • conservation
  • restoration
  • consolidation
  • coatings
  • protective products
  • provenance
  • ancient materials
  • degradation
  • characterisation
  • archaeometry
  • pigments
  • mortars
  • frescoes
  • mosaics
  • stone

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 4892 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Stone Tesserae from “Praedia Iuliae Felicis” Mosaics (Pompeii—Italy)
by Anna Maria De Francesco, Adriano Guido, Mara Cipriani, Giuseppe Maruca, Marianna Musella, Paola Sabbatucci, Ludovica Alesse, Valeria Amoretti, Gabriel Zuchtriegel and Donatella Barca
Heritage 2025, 8(3), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8030094 - 25 Feb 2025
Viewed by 457
Abstract
This work illustrates the results of an archaeometric investigation performed on 29 stone tesserae collected from 2021 to 2024 during the restoration campaigns of three mosaic floors at Praedia Iuliae Felicis in Pompeii (Campania, Italy). The tesserae were studied through a micro-analytical approach [...] Read more.
This work illustrates the results of an archaeometric investigation performed on 29 stone tesserae collected from 2021 to 2024 during the restoration campaigns of three mosaic floors at Praedia Iuliae Felicis in Pompeii (Campania, Italy). The tesserae were studied through a micro-analytical approach using Polarized Optical Microscopy (POM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer with Wavelength-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EPMA-WDS). The aim of the study was to determine the petro-chemical features of the mosaic tesserae and to obtain information about the provenance of the raw materials. The research highlights the use of different types of stone, such as volcanic and sedimentary, of probable local provenance. A single marble tessera was also recognized. In addition, the archaeometric study allowed a better knowledge of the executive technique and contributed to orienting the technical choices of the restoration. Indeed, a complementary study of conservation state of the three mosaic floors was conducted with the aim of better defining strategies for conservation and restoration, paying attention to the compatibility and to the interaction of the restoration products with the characteristics of the raw materials. Full article
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