28° Convegno Internazionale Scienza e Beni culturali
LA CONSERVAZIONE DEL PATRIMONIO ARCHITETTONICO ALL'APERTO
SUPERFICI, STRUTTURE, FINITURE E CONTESTI

Bressanone, 10 13 luglio 2012 

info: ARCADIA RICERCHE SRL
VEGA Parco Scientifico Tecnologico di VE
Via delle Industrie, 25/11 30175 Marghera (VE)
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CONSERVATION OF OUTDOOR PLASTER FINISHES IN AN ARCHITECTURAL COMPLEX: THE CASE OF THE SACRO MONTE DI VARALLO SESIA.


C. L. Serra* A. Formia* M. Zerbinatti** M. Sangermano* J.M. Tulliani*

*. Dep. of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino

**. Dip. of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino


Abstract.

Conservation of outdoor historical finishes represents a difficult issue, due to their aesthetical and functional roles. This is particularly the case of the Sacro Monte di Varallo Sesia, in which the protection of the external decoration is preparatory to the protection of the masonry, including the complex indoor decoration. Moreover, the appearance of the external decoration represents itself a remarkable conservation issue, influencing the overall aspect of the Chapels of the Sacro Monte complex. Besides further characterization of existing plasters, this study also deals with plaster laboratory formulation, in order to plan a possible intervention of re-proposition. This last topic is strongly related to color feature analysis on original plaster and to the selection of current available pigments to obtain the most similar color to the in situ plaster ones. These aspects guarantee a chemical and technological compatibility which have an impact on the final appearance. However, characterization and reintegration are not sufficient to fully pursue a conservation plan. It is well known that reintegration intervention should be conducted only when lacunae are too extensive, but the goal of preserving the original finishes as much as possible, will be achieved through the use of consolidants and protectives. For these reasons, we also mention the application of a new protective coating on plaster samples.


Key words: plaster conservation, plaster re-formulation, finishes, protectives.