Polychrome majolica of Apulian domes: history, technique, pathology and conservation

The paper is focused on the historical-architectural evolution and material-technical qualification of polychrome majolica domes that were built between the 17th and 19th centuries in Apulian religious buildings. In particular, the cultural context in which this solution spread throughout the Mediterranean area is identified. Moreover, the case history of construction and decorative techniques that are distinctive of the regional territory is discussed in terms of underlying structure, installation of elements and surface colours. The study is then detailed on the Church of Santa Maria della Vetrana in Castellana Grotte (BA), for which the morpho-typological survey and mapping of the decay state are presented, based on the use of terrestrial and aerial digital photogrammetry. Finally, based on the identification of the main pathologies from both direct and indirect alteration factors, the most appropriate conservation and maintenance interventions are outlined, with specific focus on repair and integration of the majolica tiles, according to principles of high compatibility and low intrusiveness for a solution meeting artisan tradition and technical practice

Storicità e riqualificazione del Patrimonio pubblico dismesso. Il caso dell’architettura industriale spagnola

The industrial Heritage represents a large part of 20th-century buildings all over the world, whose fate, however, is almost uncertain due to their obsolete functions in an almost completely changed scenery. It is, therefore, of primary importance to begin an evaluation-methodological reflection on how these buildings fit into the landscape transformation processes, and on how to rethink their reuse or repositioning in the territorial context to which they belong. A project repositioning that reverses the regression, historically determined, from place to not-place, leveraging a recognized historical value that is at the same time an added value to the territory and, therefore, also cultural, economic and social. This contribution, focusing on the Spanish context, deals with the birth and evolution of Industrial Archaeology, the events that determined the transformation of these places into not-places and the gradual process that today sees these disused spaces as Heritage to be recovered and revived as traces of a past that isn’t only architectural, but historical, cultural and social

MORTERO, YESO Y PIEDRA: RESTAURACIÓN DEL “ANTIGUO CONVICINO” (SASSO CAVEOSO EN MATERA-ITALIA)

Después de haber pasado por momentos adversos durante su historia, la ciudad de Matera fue nombrada como la nueva Capital Europea de la Cultura 2019, y en consecuencia su centro histórico declarado Patrimonio Mundial por la UNESCO en 1993 es actualmente objeto de cambios y renovaciones en el uso de sus tipologías de vivienda. El objetivo principal en este proyecto es la reactivación de un antiguo grupo de grutas conocidas bajo la tipología de “vicinato” que datan de la época paleolítica, mediante la inserción de uso de tipo turistico-cultural. Con el proyecto se pretende dotar a la población de el Hotel “Cenobio”, diseñado con el objetivo de contribuir a los procesos de mejora territorial que aprovechan el vasto patrimonio histórico y cultural nacional y local. El objetivo es dar vida a un nuevo sistema de alojamiento hotelero que está destinado principalmente como un nodo de bienvenida para los flujos de demanda más sensibles al uso del patrimonio cultural, desarrollando un programa empresarial para la realización de un hotel integrado en el contexto local y tendrá un alto estándar de calidad. Darle al poblador y a los turistas de la ciudad la oportunidad de convivir y compartir experiencias en espacios cargados de historia, haciendo crecer así su identidad, arraigo y sentido de pertenencia con sus orígenes

The Identity Value of Vernacular Productive Architecture Knowledge, Recovery and Enhancement of the Val D’Agri Water Mills

The Industrial Heritage (I.H) is made of rests of the industrial culture with its historical, technological, social, architectural and scientific elements – parts of buildings, machinery, laboratories, firms, mines and locations where pro- cessing and refining procedures took place, warehouses and shops, energy produc- tion and transfer sites. Such electricity is used for transport and all its infrastructure as it occurs for places where social activities take place such as accomodation, training or religion worship facilities. The patrimonialisation process of the I.H. is essential as it recognises a com- munity heritage made of memories and identity. The research is based on the Italian productive and vernacular patrimony, especially in the south of Italy, by taking into consideration the proto-industrial period – from the second half of the17th century to the second half of the 19th century – and analyses the organisa- tion of the industrial system before the real industrialisation Era starting in the19th century. Italy is rich in working places, in fact, in southern Italy agribusiness has a great impact with its range of productive activities connected to agricultural products processing. Indeed, the milling vernacular industry represented an economical development source between the 17th and the first half of 20th century, this is the reason why there are lots of mills and bakeries for bread. The study deeply analyses the economic and social impact of water mills – vernacular and productive architectures of rural areas used to process wheat into flour. The “Val D’Agri” presents a large number of water mills and is located in the south-west part of Basilicata region. Its name comes from the river crossing the area. This analysis considers the functional recovery of watermills with a multidisciplinar criterion

DRY-STONE WALLS IN APULIA AND BASILICATA. MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION ART: FROM FUNCTION TO LANGUAGE OF THE CULTURE OF SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

The dry-stone walls of Apulia and Basilicata, a UNESCO heritage site, define a cultural heritage, even before being material, in the definition of optimal paths of use and management of the environment and resources; therefore, it is of particular interest to interpret the different functions that have been attributed to these handiworks in order to adapt their typology to the specific geomorphologic, climatic and cultivation needs of the involved territorial contexts. The materials and the construction arts of these micro-architectures are analyzed in this work, considering the diversified functions of these artefacts and their contribution to the socio-environmental conservation and enhancement of traditional cultures, which have anticipated many sustainability goals such as soil conservation, hydrological optimization and groundwater recharge, perception and protection of natural and cultural landscapes

Culture Economy: innovative strategies to sustainable restoration of artistic heritage. Part II - New materials and diagnostic techniques to prevent and control calcarenite degradation

A wide spread of multidisciplinary results was obtained for the Smart Cities and Communities and Social Innovation project supported by MIUR and entitled “Product and process innovation for the maintenance, conservation and sustainable restoration of cultural heritage”. The project basically suggested the op- portunity to avoid emergency closures of sites of high historical, architectural and cultural value, to proceed with planned interventions that regularly guarantee the well-being of the site and its conservation. A new organization of the protection, conservation and maintenance system was thus proposed (Part I and Part II). The choice of the test materials was suggested by their widespread use in the monu- mental heritage of Southern Italy and in particular in ‘The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera – UNESCO World Heritage Site” which was the site where part of the lab activity was transferred “in situ”. In particular, the reported activity in Part II describes the microstructural characterization of calcarenite and the identification of some compounds of its degradation by means the integrated use of different analytical technique. The paper also presents some non-destructive test results evaluating the behavior of both a newly developed acrylic-based product developed by the project’s industrial partner (Icap Leather Chem Spa) and commercial consolidating and protective products