The Italian Draft Law on the \u2018Provisions Concerning the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage\u2019

Intangible cultural heritage in Italy is still in need of a unified approach, capable of providing reliable criteria for identifying its assets and for indicating timescales and means by which they should be safeguarded. In the continued absence of up-to-date, ad hoc state legislation (since the content of those laws which do implement international Conventions is too generic in nature to be sufficiently effective), the Regions have proceeded to act in a somewhat scattered manner, giving rise to an extremely fragmented and very disorderly regulatory framework. The draft law N. 4486, "Provisions Concerning the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage", presented on 12th May 2017 at the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic - as the result of the work of an interdisciplinary and inter-university research team coordinated by Marco Giampieretti, who has drafted the final text with the collaboration of Simona Pinton - seeks to fill the serious void that exists in Italian legal system by aligning it to the principles of international and European law, by redirecting the relevant State and Regional legislation, and by satisfying the fundamental requirements of the national community

Chemical and biological characterization of paper: A case study usinga proposed methodological approach

One of the most important causes of paper degradation is biodeterioration, caused especially by fungi and bacteria under certain environmental conditions. This study was designed to check the presence of cellulolytic microorganisms on documents from the 19th century, and to verify any biodeterioration that may have occurred by using a series of predominantly non-invasive analyses in order to preserve their integrity. For the characterization of paper documents various non-destructive micro-analyses were performed in succession, so as to deepen our knowledge of these step by step and thus provide a logical approach for the general study of this type of artifact. The samples were analyzed by using light microscopy, histochemical tests, pH analysis, SEMeEDS observations, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in ATR, and GCeMS. Organic cultures were also made with the samples taken from the surfaces of the documents; in particular, four fungal species, Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp., and Ulocladium alternarie, have been identified, as well as the presence of bacteria and dust mites. Finally, relations/correlations between the results of chemical and biological analyses are discussed