Romanesque and territory. The construction materials of Sardinian medieval churches: new approaches to the valorization, conservation and restoration

This paper is intended to illustrate a multidisciplinary research project devoted to the study of the constructive materials of the Romanesque churches in Sardinia during the “Giudicati” period (11th -13th centuries). The project focuses on the relationship between a selection of monuments and their territory, both from a historical-architectural perspective and from a more modern perspective addressing future restoration works. The methodologies of the traditional art-historical research (study of bibliographic, epigraphic and archival sources, formal reading of artifacts) are flanked by new technologies: digital surveys executed with a 3D laser-scanner, analyses of the materials (stones, mortars, bricks) with different instrumental methods: X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for chemical composition, X-ray diffractometer (XRD) to determine the alteration phases (e.g., soluble salts), optical microscopy and electronic (SEM) to study textures, mineral assemblages and microstructures, termogravimetric/differential scanning, calorimetric analysis (TG/DTA) for the composition of the binder mortars. This multidisciplinary approach allows the achieving of important results in an archaeometric context: 1) from a historical point of view, with the possible identification of ancient traffics, trade routes, sources of raw materials, construction phases, wall textures; 2) from a conservative point of view, by studying chemical and physical weathering processes of stone materials compatible for replacement in case of future restoration works. Sardinian Romanesque architectural heritage is particularly remarkable: about 200 churches of different types and sizes, with the almost exclusive use of cut stones. Bi- or poly-chromy, deriving from the use of different building materials, characterizes many of these monuments, becoming also a vehicle for political and cultural meanings. The paper will present some case studies aimed to illustrate the progress of the project and the results achieved

The church of St. Saturnino in Cagliari, Sardinia, reading the levels of history through the use of digital survey and the petrophysical study of materials

The most ancient church in Cagliari is dedicated to Saint Saturno (commonly named Saint Saturnino), the first indications about this church came from the sixth century, but the building arrived to our time is only a part of the original one and it rises over the ruins of previous structures, inside a a walled area with the presence of a Palaeo-Christian necropolis. The original Greek cross plan with a transept and a semi-spherical dome; has seen meaningful transformations in time, with the partial destruction of large parts of the building. All the four arms had a nave and two aisles, but the current church consists only of the dome-covered area and of the eastern arm, with a nave and two aisles. The whole church shows very interesting parts coming from previous architectures of the Roman age, a rich catalog of rich materials and details. In summer 2013, a collaboration between the Departments of Chemical and Geological Sciences from Cagliari and the one of Architecture from Florence brought to the realization of a detailed study about this ancient church. The whole building and its surrounding area were surveyed with the following methods: photography, 3D Laser Scanner for the whole interior and exterior parts, 3D photogrammetry of a selected set of stone surface samples, direct sampling of representative rocks for geochemical and petrophysical analysis. All data were then treated and analyzed to deepen the knowledge about the most meaningful aspects of different construction techniques and use of materials, provenance of raw materials, stone and structure alterations. As the result, a base was created to read common behaviors, design choices, recursive constructive solutions, and the “models” guiding the ancient intentions. This contribution will present the progress state of this research and its results

Interdisciplinary research project on the Abbey of S. Croce at Sassovivo in Foligno, Italy

The research project on the Abbey of S. Croce at Sassovivo in Foligno (Italy) started in 2012, based on the studies of Giovanni Carbonara and Lia Barelli from Sapienza University of Rome. The aim of the project was to investigate the abbey complex to understand the different construction phases of the buildings. In particular, the study was focused on the material aspects through the stratigraphic reading of the structures and the analysis of building materials. In this case, the extensive archival documentation is not detailed enough to reconstruct the history of the building phases. Thanks to the particular characteristics of the abbey and the multidisciplinary method of the research, this project has involved an increasing number of Italian and foreign professionals. Following the identification of the size and extension of the medi- eval church, the first archaeological excavation campaign started in 2014. It was carried out by the Postgraduate School in Architectural and Land- scape Heritage of Sapienza University of Rome and supported by the Associazione degli Amici dell’Ab- bazia di Sassovivo (Association of the Friends of Sassovivo Abbey). The first results exceeded expec- tations, revealing a much more complex situation, and new archaeological campaigns were planned (2015-2016-2017). During these investigations, we had the collaboration of the Department of Cultural Catholic Heritage of the Pontifical Gregorian Uni- versity, Department of Physics and Geology of the University of Perugia, the Department of Biologi- cal Anthropology of the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest and the Department of Anthropology of the Museum of Natural History of Budapest

SUB LEGE TO SUB GRATIA: An Iconographic Study of Van Eyck’s Annunciation

When the Archangel Gabriel descended from heaven to inform the Virgin Mary of her status as God’s chosen vehicle for the birth of Jesus Christ, she was immediately filled with a sense of apprehension. Gabriel’s words, “...invenisti enim gratiam apud Deum [you have found favor with God],” reassured the Virgin that she would face no harm, and the scene of the Annunciation (what this moment has come to be called) has forever been immortalized in Christian belief as a watershed moment in the New Testament. While many Byzantine icons of the Medieval period sought to depict this snapshot in time and commemorate its importance, the most notable artistic examples of The Annunciation began to appear in the 15th century as the stylistic and symbolic traditions of the Renaissance began to take shape. While the works of artists such as Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci have come to generally be known as the touchstones of this early Renaissance period, the talents and contributions of northern masters must not be overlooked

Relations between static-structural aspects, construction phases and building materials of San Saturnino Basilica (Cagliari, Italy)

The construction site was used several times: in a first phase, in the republican era of Roman domination it hosted, probably, a temple whose height could reach 25 meters; in a second phase, during the Roman Empire, it was used as a burial area. Then around IV-V century AD a first Christian Basilica made of a naved building with an apse was built there, at the center of a large monastery. Subsequently in a third phase in VI century AD a Byzantine Martyrium, with a Greek cross-shaped plan, was built: the central part of it, supporting a dome is still standing. Finally after 1089 the church was given to Marsilian monks who deeply renovated it and changed its shape converting the plan to a Latin cross. A macroscopic material analysis shows the presence of various rocks, whose use appears to be inhomogeneous during all construction phases. Sedimentary rocks (limestones, sandstones, calcarenites etc belonging to local geological formations) are generally used for masonry structures. Marbles, mostly coming from abroad and previously used in Roman buildings have been adopted for architectural elements (columns, capitals, and so on). At a lower extent there are masonry blocks in Oligo-Miocenic volcanic rocks and seldom stone materials which are not originally from Sardinia. Both mineralogical and petrographic tests (e.g. XRF, XRD) and the most important physical properties (porosity, density, water absorption coefficients, compressive, flexural and tensile strength, etc) show that many of the more representative samples of rock materials (like limestonss, calcarenits) are often highly decayed, with a corresponding reduction of their mechanical strength. A structural analysis is particularly useful for helping in clarifying the historical evolution of the building, checking reconstruction hypotheses and assessing the true residual strength of the more important parts. An example, a FEM analysis of the Byzantine domed part is presented here

Et Partu Fontis Exceptum: The Typology of Birth and Baptism in an Unusual Spanish Image of Jesus Baptized in a Font

A capital with an unusual scene of the Baptism of Jesus has recently been excavated in the late twelfth-century cloister of San Juan de la Peña (Huesca). Remarkable for its depiction of a youthful Saviour seated in a footed baptismal font, the image deviates significantly from the traditional Romanesque formula of an adult Jesus baptized in the Jordan River. Examination of this motif's iconographic roots locates it among a small family of similar northern Spanish images, the earliest of which is an illumination in the so-called "Beatus of Gerona," dated A.D. 975. The unconventional motif of the Baptism in a font seems to have resulted from a deliberate iconographic borrowing, by which an image of the Bath of the Infant Jesus at the Nativity was deliberately recast as a Baptism scene. This borrowing depends in part upon pictorial similarities between the traditional formulas of Bath and Baptism, but it is supported by a venerable ideological typology which links the purification of Christian baptism with that of the natal bath. This typology is echoed in Christian liturgy by the repeated pairing of the Baptism of Jesus with numerous episodes relating to his Nativity, and seems also to have been known elsewhere in Europe, where it inspired scenes which resemble, but are not directly related to, the Spanish group. Although the specific circumstances which inspired the Spanish Baptism in a font remain unknown, the complex visual and theological foundations on which the motif depends bear witness to the creativity and adaptability of its unknown medieval inventor

St. Serf's Church Tower, Dunning, Perthshire: Data Structure Report

This report describes excavations undertaken as part of the SERF project. A small trench was excavated along the north wall of the tower of St Serf’s Church, Dunning. The tower was shown to be of the same 12th-century date of construction as the church, as it was bonded into the nave in its lower courses. Part of the north wall of the tower re-used an earlier structure as a foundation, providing rare evidence for a pre-12th century stone building. An earlier burial running under this foundation shows earlier activity on a different alignment, presumably dating to the early medieval period. Later medieval burials were also found. Details of the construction of the medieval church were uncovered

Gargoyles on Glatfelter Hall

When one walks around the campus of Gettysburg College, Glatfelter Hall towers above them, as one of the College’s most commanding edifices. One takes notice of the arched doorways, sunken windows, and the giant bell tower whose occupant chimes on the hour. What one may not notice are the eyes watching from the brownstone; faces and creatures at home in the stone, surveying your every move. Grotesques and gargoyles sit in the moldings, on the window sills and at the junction where roof and wall meet, hidden from the eye that does not have the compulsion to look. These architectural ornaments are not noticed outright because they tend to blend in with the stonework on the building. However, once you have seen them, you never cease to feel their eyes upon you. [excerpt] Course Information: Course Title: HIST 300: Historical Method Academic Term: Spring 2006 Course Instructor: Dr. Michael J. Birkner \u2772 Hidden in Plain Sight is a collection of student papers on objects that are hidden in plain sight around the Gettysburg College campus. Topics range from the Glatfelter Hall gargoyles to the statue of Eisenhower and from historical markers to athletic accomplishments. You can download the paper in pdf format and click View Photo to see the image in greater detail.https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/hiddenpapers/1001/thumbnail.jp

Multinational Cultural Heritage In The Landscape Of Contemporary Poland

Published in: Society and Space in Contemporary Poland in Łódź University Geographical Research, edited by T.MarszałIt should also be noted that in recent years, we have been noticing the foreign influences and have not been bothered by the non-Polish elements. We can find as many foreign traces in Polish cultural landscape, as there are Polish elements all over Europe and often far away from it. Both are parts of the same world cultural heritage that is so hard to classify or include in just one culture. Poland has more than a 1000-year history of statehood, which left a number of marks in the land. Many of its historic buildings can be found in the UNESCO World Heritage List, which shows how influential cultures of different countries are on the overall European culture. The presence of many Polish monuments in the UNESCO list makes us proud, but also shows how countries unite and appreciate each other’s heritage