Search Results (6)

The Cava Madre of Candoglia represents an important underground rock cavern in the northwest of Italy, both for historical reasons and for the material that is extracted there: the marble for the continuous reconstruction and renovation works of the Milan Cathedral. Over time, the cavern reached considerable dimensions, and the existing state of stress (considerable horizontal stresses) required the creation of impressive structures to contrast and support the side walls. A complex and effective monitoring system guarantees the continuous control of the cavern. To improve the reliability of the geomechanical characterization and, therefore, of the numerical model that allows the analysis of the stress and strain behavior of the cavern, a back-analysis was developed. This allowed us to “calibrate” the two geomechanical parameters on which there was the greatest uncertainty: the elastic modulus of the marble at the scale of the problem and the lateral thrust coefficient at rest (k₀). Finally, the numerical model made the results of the back-analysis more effective, allowing us to verify the support and contrast structures of the walls and to proceed with a careful definition of the project relating to future mining works for the continuation of the exploitation of the existing marble bench. Full article

The indoor climate of non-climatized churches is usually subject to cyclical fluctuations of temperature and relative humidity induced by external climate conditions which might be dampened by the high thermal capacity of their envelope. However, several phenomena affect their indoor climate (e.g., internal gains due to people and artificial lighting, air infiltration, etc.), which lead to environmental variations that might jeopardize the artworks contained within. In particular, one of the most influential parameters that may affect non-climatized churches is the massive and intermittent presence of people who constantly visit their spaces. In such regard, long-term monitoring allows the collection of environmental data with different building operation conditions and visitor fluxes. This paper analyses the indoor climate of the Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) in Italy for three continuous years (including the lockdown period that occurred in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic), with a focus on visitors’ effects on the indoor environment and the conservation of the main artworks contained within. The results of the analysis have shown that spaces with huge volume are most influenced by the opening of the doors rather than the hygrothermal contribution of the intermittent presence of massive crowds. Moreover, the absence of visitors for a prolonged period correlates with an improvement in the indoor conservation conditions for artworks, especially those made of hygroscopic materials, due to the reduction in short, rapid climate fluctuations. Full article

Heritage buildings and the precious artworks contained therein, represent inestimable cultural and artistic evidence from the past that must be properly preserved for future generations. In the last decades, climate change has gained relevance and is becoming crucial to assess the building performance under such effect to provide timely mitigation actions to preserve our cultural heritage. In this regard, this paper outlines a method that combines different experimental activities and tools to forecast possible future risks due to climate change for the conservation of the artworks and provide its application in a relevant case study in Italy, the Duomo di Milano. In detail, the suggested method consists of the monitoring of the building indoor climate to validate a simulation model, defining possible future scenarios based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections, and evaluation of the future conservation risks of the main artworks. The results of the analysis carried out, show that for some artworks (e.g., stone sculptures, some organic materials, etc.), the conservation conditions will not worsen compared to the current situation, while for others (e.g., paintings, wooden objects, etc.) the risk of deterioration is expected to increase substantially. This study helps to understand how the future climate can affect the indoor environment of a huge masonry building and allow to plan targeted mitigation strategies aimed to reduce the future risks. Full article

The Chiaravalle Cross, a masterpiece of Mediaeval goldsmithery, went under restoration in 2016. This was a unique opportunity to undertake an in-depth multidisciplinary study. Several issues were addressed, as for example the chronology of the Cross, lacking any official document about it. The scientific investigations included in situ and laboratory measurements, and the analyses, part of a multidisciplinary protocol, completely characterized the gemstones adorning the Cross, the cameos, the gold, silver, jasper and glass parts, to derive indications on their provenance, authenticity and dating issues. All the results were shared with the whole collaboration of experts, which included art historians, a restorer, a conservator, a scholar in ancient glyptic, gemologists, archaeometallurgists, physicists and scientists in a very fruitful exchange of knowledge. This work is an example of a real multidisciplinary research, gathering good practices in the study of a complex piece of art. Full article

Marbles from Alpine area have been widely employed to build and decorate masterpieces and buildings which often represent the cultural heritage of an area (statuary, historic buildings and sculptures). Candoglia marble, object of the present research, is one of the most famous and appreciated marbles from Alpine area; it has been quarried since Roman times in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (VCO; Piemonte—NW Italy) extractive area. Candoglia Marble outcrops are present as lenses within the high-grade paragneisses of the Ivrea Zone, a visible section of deep continental crust characterised by amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphism (Palaeozoic period). Candoglia calcitic marble (80–85% CaCO₃ and the 15–20% other minerals) shows a characteristic pink to gray colour and a coarse-grained texture (>3 mm): frequent centimetre-thick dark-greenish silicate layers (mainly represented by diopside and tremolite) characterize the texture of the marble. It has been largely used in local rural constructions and historical buildings, but its most famous application has been (and still is) for the “Duomo di Milano” construction (fourteenth century). The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano carried out the anthropogenic activities dealing with the Candoglia marble exploitation; it has to be highlighted that the company have managed the Marble exploitation during the last seven centuries and that the quarry itself is a tangible sign of the development of extraction and heritage in the VCO area. Candoglia marble can be recognized as a significant example of a “Global Heritage Stone Resource”: its exploitation from quarry to building (the Duomo di Milano) well represents the close correlation between stone and cultural heritage, between georesources and humankind development. Full article

The Milan Cathedral, built between 1386 and 1813, is one of the largest masonry monuments ever built. After a brief description of the Cathedral, the paper presents the conceptual design of the monitoring system aimed at assisting the condition-based structural maintenance of the historic building. To the authors’ knowledge, the presented monitoring system is the largest ever implemented in a Cultural Heritage monument; in addition, appropriate strategies of Structural Health Monitoring have been developed for the continuous interrogation of sensors installed in the structure and the extraction from measured data of features which are representative of the current state of structural health. Full article