LA CONSERVAZIONE DELL’IDENTITÀ DI MANUFATTI IN FERRO DEL XIX SECOLO IN DUE ESEMPI IN TORINO

Barbara Vinardi

Segretariato Regionale del MIBACT per il Piemonte, piazza San Giovanni 2, Torino barbara.vinardi@beniculturali.it

ABSTRACT

The recognition of the metal components and their traditional historical techniques is a prerequisite for the aim of their conservation, facing the difficulties of limited accessibility, particularity of decorative details, reproduction of forgotten handcraft techniques, stress resistance and utilization, need to deal with actions already happened for functional requirements or decay of matter. These issues have been faced in the reintegration and in the recent restoration of the railings of the Turin’s Royal Palace and in the remelting and in the fitting to the safety rules of the Napoleonic stone bridge over the Po.

In the first case the operating choices of the restoration were based on "construction of knowledge" of history, of drawing and iconography, of building technologies, of materials used in the original version and in the renewed, and on the study of the conservation status of railings and its condition; in the second case, the decay of the components and the need to adjust to new safety regulations, involved considerable typological alterations, which show that the intervention considered just as "routine" on existing structures requires a particular reflection also on details, which can eventually also involve considerable attention to the documentary interest and to the functionality of the system, even if -as in the case- already presented defects in origin.

In addition, the opportunity to turn our attention to other metal objects exposed to renovation and reuse, such as gratings or grilles, including details apparently minimal (sometimes "hand writing"), has to be considered in terms of restoration and not of ignorant maintenance, not to compromise its integrity and authenticity.

Parole chiave/Key-words:

Conservation, wrought iron, cast iron, railings, bridge, parapet, XIXth century