Beni Culturali

Description of activities :

Since its foundation in the ’70s, AdR RM1 has hosted  several research activities dedicated to the study of Cultural Heritage, with multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary features, an aspect that was highly innovative at that time and that still strongly characterize us, today.

Presently, six Institutes dealing with cultural, material and intangible heritage are located in AdR RM1, three of them belonging to the Human Sciences and Cultural Heritage Department of CNR (DSU) i.e.: Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico (ISMA), Istituto per le Tecnologie Applicate ai Beni Culturali (ITABC) and Istituto per la Conservazione e la Valorizzazione dei Beni Culturali (ICVBC). The other three Institutes, Istituto di Cristallografia (IC), Istituto di Metodologie Chimiche (ISB) and Istituto per lo studio dei materiali nanostrutturati (ISMN) belongs to the CNR Chemical Science and Materials Technology (DSCTM) Department, while Istituto di Struttura della Materia belongs to the CNR-Physical sciences and technologies of matter Department.

ISMA, ITABC and ICVBC, given the breadth of their research areas, offer a very broad range of expertise on Cultural Heritage: from historical and archaeological research on ancient texts, sites and objects, to the application of innovative analysis technologies, conservation and restoration of land and monuments, up to the valorization of museums and urban centers. They contribute to a complete research path that addresses Cultural Heritage from micro to macro and vice versa, allowing complex problems to be analysed from different points of view, with complete and effective results. Our primary goal is that Cultural Heritage is not only preserved and transmitted to future generations, but also more widely known, becoming a part of the everyday life of citizens through a sustainable and “attractive” fruition, capable of conquering the attention of young and old people also thanks to innovative instruments such as the virtual reconstruction. Our research activities are directed not only toward the Italian Cultural Heritage, but are projected outside our national boundaries: indeed, our researchers are present throughout the whole Mediterranean area, including the Middle East, and also other continents. Being located in the Research Area also allows collaborations with other institutes, with different missions to be continuously established: this opportunity to get in touch to seemingly far-reaching areas allows us to be innovative and at the frontier of science.

ISM develops magnetic methods for dating, studies of origin, study of techniques of production of cultural artifacts. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Optical Diagnosis Techniques are used for both surface and stratigraphic elemental characterization, while micro-Raman is employed for the chemical characterization of the surface applied to pigments, pictorial surfaces and metallic findings.

ISMN carries out detailed studies on the nature of materials used for the cultural object, in order to reconstruct ancient production processes and to locate the source of resources for promotion and fruition, which can also include the technological features. The preservation of cultural goods is pursued through the synthesis of materials to be used for proper protection and reintegration in the restoration process. This activity, using emerging nanosciences and nanotechnologies, provides innovative and eco-friendly materials that enable targeted and reliable protection over time.

Keywords:

Historical research, archaeological research, conservation technologies, materials synthesis, nanotechnologies for artifact protection, restoration, museum and urban centers promotion, sustainable use, virtual reconstruction, Mediterranean area, Middle East, Latin America

INSTITUTES

EXPERTISE

FACILITIES

(IC)

  • Use and management of XRD instrumentation for X powder diffraction and single crystal diffraction;
  • Marresearch diffractometer (mod. Mar300 ) with single rotary axis and IP type plate detector.
  • Portable instrumentation for XRF with silicon drift detector and MCA Amptek
  • Portable Spectrophotometer Mightex UV / VIS / NIR (200 – 1050 nm).
  • Peltier cooled professional CCD cameras equipped with optical filters for multispectral imaging.
  • Equipment for radiographic investigation.

(ICVBC)

  • “Material Performance Test” Laboratory for the evaluation of methods and products used in conservation interventions on the basis of regulation UNI EN Conservation of Cultural Property-Test Methods.
  • DRMS (Sint Technology) for mechanical resistance measurements of stone materials both on specimens and in situ.
  • Portable Spectrocolorimeter Konica Minolta CM2600 for color measurements.
  • IR-ray FLYR Systems Thermocamera to detect heterogeneity in artifacts by assessing the presence of humidity.
  • Pascal 140-240 mercury-intrusion porosimeter for porosity and pore size distribution.
  • Climate chamber for accelerated thermo-hygrometric ageing.

(IGAG)

  • Seismograph Manager with 5-second 3-component Lennartz (Lennartz® LE-3D / 5s) and SARA-type sensors, SARA electronic instruments data acquisition and GPS scanners, for defining the fundamental frequency of F0 site.
  • 24 bits Seismograph Manager for 24-channel seismic exploration (geophones with 4.5 Hz 24 vertical and 24 horizontal cut-off frequencies) for geophysical investigations conducted in passive (Multichannel Seismic Antenna) and active (MASW) mode for defining the profile of vs.
  • Down hole Dual hole sensor operator with a 50 m length cable. Each S3 sensor consists of three channels with a 4.5 Hz cut-off frequency (1 vertical component, 2 horizontal), for geophysical investigations conducted in active mode for defining Vs profile.(2)
  • Delta plus Finnigan mass spectrometer with gas source
  • H / D Device Finnigan
  • CHNS-O EA 1110 Carlo Erba
  • Flash EA-HT 1112 THERMO
  • Gasbench II THERMO
  • Laser Ablation System Merchantek
  • TARGE GC Ultra THERMO GASChromatograph
  • Ionic Metrohm 761 Compact Chromatograph with 813 Compact Autosampler
  • High vacuum glass lines

(ISB)

  • 600 MHz Bruker Spectrometer – high resolution – for liquid and semi-solid state (HR-MAS)
  • 400 MHz Bruker spectrometer – solid state
  • 300 MHz Bruker Spectrometer – high resolution – liquid state
  • Counter relaxation meter
  • Portable relaxation meter for field measurements
  • HPLC-MS
  • GC e GC-MS
  • Nano HPLC
  • CE (capillary electrophoresis)
  • Horiba Jobin-Yvon Spectrofluorometer FLUOROMAX 4 (static and time-resolved fluorescence)
  • FT-IR Spectrometer Thermo Fisher Scientific, Nicolet iS10
  • Thermogravimetry: Mettler Toledo, TGA / DSC2
  • Fritch Pulvirusette 9 Mechanochemistry Mill
  • 60Co Nordion GC 220 gamma Irradiator
  • Angelantoni Climate Room, Challenge 340
  • AFM Park Systems XE-100
  • KSV MiniTrough 2 (Study of Langmuir film, measurement of single layer potential, Langmuir-Blodgett Film deposition)
  • Microtox test for the assessment of the ecotoxicity of liquid and solid samples

(ISM)

  • Magnetic properties characterization techniques
  • Isteresigraph (AMH-300 Electrophysical Laboratory, Hmax = 2 T, RT <T <500 K) for measurements complying with IEC 60404-5, ASTM A977, IEC / TR 61807
  • VSM vector magnetometer (MicroSense) for temperature measurements (77K -770K), magnetic field (Hmax = 2T) and angle (0- 360 ° planar, polar 0-90 °) on different geometries (discoid for thin films, cylindrical for powders and liquids); option for 4-point magneto-resistance measurements (range 1 to 10 kΩ) with a variable current from 0 to ± 20 mA.
  • Scalar Magnetometer SQUID (Quantum Design) for temperature measurement (4K -400 K), magnetic field (Hmax = 5.5T)
  • Micro-Raman Spectroscopy and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) providing complementary information on the composition of the artifact that can be directly applied to the sample without pretreatment. It is possible to obtain an analysis from the surface or from inner layers or from a section of the sample.
  • X-ray diffraction for structural characterization.
  • Optical microscopy for morphological characterization of the surface of the cultural good.

(ISMN)

  • Chemical Laboratory for Materials Synthesis, CVD Laboratory for Vapour Chemical Deposits and Plasma Treatments, Electrospray Deposition Laboratory. XPS (ESCA, UPS, AES), XRD and XRF, Micro Raman Spectroscopy, FT-IR for Structural Characterizations. FE-SEM electron microscopy, AFM atomic microscopy, optical microscopy for the characterization of surfaces. Visible UV Optical Spectroscopy Laboratory and Spectrofluorimeter for characterization of properties, DTA TGA Thermogravimetry for Thermo-Chemical Characterization.

(ITABC)

  • Use and management of phase-difference laser scanners (Faro CAM2 Laser Scanner Focus 330 and 120), photogrammetry structure of motion, phase Differential GPS Leica Stage 530 with RTK receiver for real time surveys.
  • Use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) platforms
  • Numerical simulations of the environmental energy performance of buildings and of the external microclimate
  • Computational Design, Performance-based Design
  • Diagnostic instrumentation for energy audit
  • “Smart Polis” platform for smart historical cities
  • Multicriteria analysis and participated processes