The Lombard Iron Masters Migrations and the Spread of the Blast Furnace in Europe, with a Focus on the 16th-17th Centuries

The spread of the blast furnace in some parts of Europe was connected to the migration of miners, iron masters, charcoal burners and  entrepreneurs from the Alpine valleys of the Lombard Iron Basin, from what are now the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia (Italy). The authors have gathered all the published evidence from many different sources and arranged it in geographical and chronological  order. The preliminary results of the study show that masters provided what we may call an integrated approach to iron production:  from the mine to the forge with the optional support of charcoal burners. It seems that they tried to keep their technological knowledge as a trade secret. They were hired trough middlemen, of whom we only know that they acted as intermediaries between  the masters and the private entrepreneurs or the rulers. One important reason for the spread of blast furnaces can be seen in the  increase in conflicts at the end of the 15th century. These led to a need for blast furnaces in areas of Europe where they had not  previously existed

A Blast Furnace Painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625): a New Interpretation

A small painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder, portraying a blast furnace, is to be found at Galleria Doria - Pamphilj in Rome. The authors  discuss this painting while considering the contemporary Flemish paintings of ironworks. From the peculiarity of this painting, from  the scene it portrayed and from news about Jan Brueghel´s stay in Italy, the authors conclude that this painting may represent a  Bergamasque blast furnace built in Latium

Alle origini dell'altoforno: i siti della Val Gabbia e della Val Grigna a Bienno in Valcamonica

Gli A. riassumono le conclusioni di una serie di campagne archeologiche condotte in Valcamonica che hanno portato alla individuazione di una serie di siti siderurgici antichi e collocano tali scoperte in un contesto europeo

Gli scarti della produzione siderurgica

Discussione degli scarti siderurgici rinvenuti sui sito, della loro analisi chimica, dei diagrammi di stato e delle sezioni lucide e loro collocazione cronologica

Pane e miniera, il ritorno dei "Peritj Maestri"

Gli A. trattano il fenomeno dell’emigrazione delle maestranze minerarie e metallurgiche lombarde nelle società di antico regime

Conclusioni storico-archeologiche

Discussione del sito oggetto dell’indagine archeologica da un punto di vista economico, sociale e sua collocazione in rapporto ai coevi ritrovamenti nell’area

I forni di riduzione e le forge

Discussione dei tipi di forni di riduzione usati nel sito, loro ricostruzione ed efficacia da un punto di vista termodinamico

Disclosing mineralogical phases in medioeval iron nails by non-destructive neutron techniques

There is not only one methodology for the study of mineralogical phases in archaeological samples. In this paper, we discuss a strategy applied to ancient iron nail samples completely based on non-destructive analyses. The archaeological samples come from the archaeological site of Valle delle Forme (province of Brescia–Italy) and date back to the 1300–1400 ad. Neutron-based techniques, like time-of-flight neutron diffraction and neutron tomography, have been used to determine the mineralogical composition and the structure of nails. An independent check for the assessment of the presence of different mineralogical phases was given by Raman spectroscopy. The combination of different non-destructive techniques has provided very useful information on their chemical composition, nature of the patina and corrosion features of the nails (also in the bulk of the samples)

The Chiaravalle Cross: Results of a Multidisciplinary Study

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