Majolica imaging with THz waves: preliminary results

Abstract Recent advancements performed in the development of stable and flexible devices working at TeraHertz (THz) frequencies have opened the way at considering this technology as a very interesting noninvasive diagnostic tool in cultural heritage. In this frame, the paper aims at assessing the ability of THz imaging to gather information about preservation state and constructive modalities of majolica artworks. In particular, THz surveys have been carried out on two majolica tiles dated back to the nineteenth century and realized as building cladding at Naples (Italy). The analysis has been performed by means of the Zomega fiber-coupled THz time-domain system. This analysis corroborates the ability of THz to reconstruct irregularities of majolica tile topography, to characterize pigment and glaze losses, and to detect and localize glaze and pigment layer as well as the glaze–clay body interface

Puritanism

Puritanism was a strain of English Protestantism that emerged after the re-establishment of the Protestant Church of England by Elizabeth I in 1559. Puritanism was not a coherent set of ideas, but rather a form of intense piety that led many to criticise the Church of England for not being as Reformed as Calvinist Churches on the continent. As such, Puritans and Puritanism changed in light of changing religious and political dynamics in Early Modern England, becoming an increasingly political force under Charles I and leading to the English Civil Wars. Different Puritans promoted different models of a spiritual society in order to realise their ideals including conforming to the established Church; Presbyterianism; or Separation and exile to America. What was constant, however, was a commitment to personal spiritual growth that produced an influential genre of writing on practical divinity