ABSTRACT

Graffiti, as form of graphic vandalism, represent one of the main problems in the maintenance and protection of the world artistic/architectural heritage. The cleaning operations (chemical or mechanical) currently in use, although they entail a strong impact, both functionally and aesthetically, on the treated surfaces and the worsening of the physico-mechanical characteristics as well as the inability to repeat the cleaning cycle, are considered orthodox. The surface protection by coatings is considered orthodox only when employing sacrificial compounds (non-permanent coatings) as they respect the principle of reversibility and offer lower chemical and biological inertness. The use of many non-sacrificial protective is still very often considered a pure heresy. The recent development of nanotechnology has also provided new technologies to the cultural heritage sector for the production of semi-permanent protective materials based on nanometer-sized particles, easy to use and much more effective. In this study it was analyzed the use of a nano-structured coating on a typical traditional stone support, such as a Carrara marble. The macroscopic and microscopic analysis of the surfaces with and without coating has confirmed the effectiveness of the protective treatment and the possibility of preserving the textural and aesthetic characteristics of the support.

Parole chiave/Key-words: Heresy, Orthodoxy, Cultural Heritage Protection, Nanostructured Coating, Antigraffiti