10.6092/issn.1973-9494/7957
This paper reports on several activities carried out in Italy in the restoration of cultural heritage by the following industries: Eni, Rhone Poulenc, Syremont, Mapei and CIR. Their activities, in this particular sector, involve the development of new chemical products for the restoration of architectural and monumental heritage, diagnostic analyses to characterize deterioration and the financing of conservation and restoration work.
application/pdf
1973-9494
7957
en
Ferruccio Trifirò
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
cultural heritage
The Role of Industrial Research in the Field of Cultural Heritage
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
17
Articles
2018-03-28
2018-03-27
2018-03-28
2019-09-06
203-209
CSCH
Ferruccio Trifirò
2017
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/7957
203
Accademia delle Scienze dell’Istituto di Bologna
1973-9494
cultural heritage
en
209
<a href="http://www.circhimica.it" class="uri">http://www.circhimica.it</a>
The Role of Industrial Research in the Field of Cultural Heritage
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/7957/7677
17
T    HE ROLE OF INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF
     CULTURAL HERITAGE

   Ferruccio Triirò*15
   Accademia delle Scienze dell’Istituto di Bologna, Italy


   Keywords: industrial research, protection, conservation, cultural heritage




   1. Introduction

    Chemical science can be found in all the operational phases needed to carry out the
restoration and preservation of works of art, architectural heritage or ancient artifacts.
It is present from the initial stages, starting from the diagnostics and stabilization and
consolidation efforts necessary to avoid further damage, the cleaning of the degraded
and / or contaminated parts, to the restoration of its original beauty and functionality
[1-7].
    What is the speciic relationship between the chemical industry and the technolo-
gies used in the restoration of a nation’s cultural heritage? Four situations can be
identiied in which the chemical industry is directly involved.
    The irst, and the most natural, is that of the development of new products and tech-
nologies used in the different phases of restoration.




                                                                                                   CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
    The second is the opportunity a company has, when sponsoring the restoration of
a work of art, to demonstrate its commitment to social issues and its ability in knowing
how to create close ties with the territory.
    The third is the possibility it provides for a company to talk about the restoration
work it carries out, thus presenting itself with the chance to clearly explain a chemistry
whose utility is easily understood by everyone.
    The fourth aspect relates to what was attained at one of the irst conferences on
sustainable development organized by the European Chemical Industries Association
(CIA), held in Paris some years ago. At the conference, while representatives of vari-
ous chemical industries presented their companies’ success in securing safe, clean
processes and products whose use did not cause harm to living things and the en-
vironment, the Rhône-Poulenc president chose to speak only of the activities of his
group in the restoration and conservation of cultural heritage in the world [8-9].
    In addition to several interventions carried out in Italy, the French company was in-
volved in the restoration of a wooden building in the imperial citadel of Hue in Vietnam,
the Taj Mahal in India, the Burgos cathedral and several old manuscripts in France and
εauritania. εore speciically, Rhone Poulenc developed a special silicone adhesive
employed in the restoration of the Taj εahl and an insecticide (ibronil) for wood in
the restoration of the Hue citadel in Vietnam and the preservation of the manuscripts

* Corresponding authorμ ferruccio.triiro@unibo.it

                                                                                             203
                                                                                        in Mauritania. The initiative of Rhône-Poulenc’s President to speak only of his com-
                                                                                        pany’s activities in saving European and world cultural heritage at a conference on
                                                                                        sustainable chemistry must be interpreted as a very precise strategic choice in wishing
                                                                                        to present a positive chemistry. A chemistry that is no longer on the defensive but is
                                                                                        eager to explain that chemical production does not alter the ecosystem and is useful to
                                                                                        humanity to preserve its existing heritage for future generations.


                                                                                           2. Restoration interventions in Italy

                                                                                           In recent years, several industries in Italy have used their products and / or made
                                                                                        their skills available to sponsor restoration works. I have selected a number of these
                                                                                        industries to highlight this aspect: Eni, Syremont, Rhone Poulenc, Mapei and CIR.

                                                                                           A. ENI

                                                                                            Eni’s role was fundamental in the restoration of the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica
                                                                                        in Rome, which started in March 1997 and concluded in September 1999 [1,10-11].
                                                                                        It was quite a unique experience, as a large industrial group actually participated in
F. Trifirò* - The role of industrial research in the field of cultural heritage




                                                                                        the initiative, and not as usually happens, only acted as a sponsor on the project. For
                                                                                        this purpose, Eni made its own resources and expertise available, delegating, at the
                                                                                        operational level, EniTecnologie, their division of research and technological innova-
                                                                                        tion. A range of competences was thus made available, related to the ield of physical
                                                                                        chemistry, materials science, non-destructive testing and environmental monitoring.
                                                                                            These are competences that have been consolidated through years of long-standing
                                                                                        research activities, in particular diagnostic investigations, characterized by the inten-
                                                                                        sive use of non-invasive techniques. The project was conceived with a wide-ranging
                                                                                        perspective for future development and with the aim of: acquiring the most extensive
                                                                                        and detailed documentation on the monument; diagnosing the degradation of the ma-
                                                                                        terials and the stone in particular; selecting the most effective intervention technologies
                                                                                        with regard to the real problems encountered; analyzing the impact of the environment
                                                                                        on the monument.
                                                                                            EniTecnologie’s scientiic and technological expertise greatly beneitted the entire
                                                                                        project, a situation which, due to its special planning and content, is not easily found
                                                                                        in other cases of restoration work, even when the monuments are of great histori-
                                                                                        cal and artistic signiicance. Technical-scientiic technologies and skills were optimally
                                                                                        integrated with artistic and historical knowledge and the high-quality artisan tradition
                                                                                        found in the ‘Fabbrica’ (Fabric) of St. Peter’s.
                                                                                            This synergic union undoubtedly constituted one of the keys to the success of the
                                                                                        project, in addition to the many innovative aspects that emerged within it, inspired by
                                                                                        the predisposition of the researchers for innovation. This is especially evident in those
                                                                                        activities of a diagnostic nature, where spectroscopic techniques and microbiological
                                                                                        investigations stand out. Rapid analytical procedures were developed, based on the
                                                                                        use of X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, electronic microscopy coupled with X-ray
                                                                                        spectroscopy in energy dispersion and thermogravimetry. These analyses, conducted
                                                                                        in part on resin-embedded fragments and partly on the powders mechanically removed
                                                                                        from their surface, allowed a detailed description of the chemical composition, crys-
                                                                                        tallographic structure and morphological structure of the most supericial layer of the


                                                                                  204
stone to be obtained. εicrobiological investigations also enabled identiication of the
species of microorganisms that colonized the facade stone (fungal and algal species,
typically present in soil). The collected data clearly showed that the most supericial
part of the stone was made up of a layer of variable thickness, well distinguishable
from the underlying travertine. This layer was composed of calcium salts, predomi-
nantly sulphate (plaster) and to a lesser extent oxalate and inorganic (typically soil
dusts) and organic (produced by combustion processes) particulate matter, of atmos-
pheric origin. In conclusion, activities carried out in the research for the restoration of
St. Peter’s façade wereμ the photogrammetric relief of the façadeν the diagnosis on the
state of preservation of the monument, geo-radar reliefs and technical reliefs; stone
cleaning; biocide treatment and treatment of metal parts; environmental monitoring;
the setting up a database.

   B. SYREMONT S.P.A.

    Syremont s.p.a. was opened in 1987 by the Montedison Group and in a matter of
years achieved a position of excellence in the ield of conservation and enhancement of
the historical-artistic and environmental heritage [8], focusing all the know-how acquired
by the Group on studies and products for cultural heritage. The company specialized
in a large range of services covering the entire cycle of heritage interventions: from mi-
croclimate determination to diagnostics on the state of conservation of materials, from
the development of new restoration methods to treatments with preservative products.
    Syremont was involved in the restoration of Masaccio and Masolino’s frescoes in
the Brancacci Chapel in Florence, and those of Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel in
Padua by formulating ion-exchange resins for desulfating and for removing mortar/
plaster and limestone incrustations. The chapel underwent an excellent work of resto-
ration that has removed the black soot layer of the candles and the protective ‘eggshell’




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
ilm used in the 18th century to revitalize the colors of the frescoes, which by that time,
had darkened. The frescoes have an exceptional brilliance and vivacity that make
it possible to clearly identify the differences between Masolino and Masaccio’s work
(compare Masolino’s serenity and composure in Adam’s and Eve’s Temptation with the
transiguring agony in εasaccio’s Terrestrial Paradise).
    Syremont has also followed the restoration of archaeological sites and several mon-
umental buildings using aggregates, binders and protective agents, generally based
on luorinated compounds. Finally, as regards the development of innovative conser-
vation methodologies, it was Syremont that oversaw the project and realized the par-
ticularly sophisticated system of conservation and museum exhibition of the Similaun
mummy (commonly called Ötzi), housed in the archaeological museum of Bolzano
(South Tyrol, Italy).
    In 2002, Thesauron s.p.a, which was already operating at a national level in the
ield of use and management of cultural and environmental assets, acquired a major
share in Syremont [13]. Today, the activities of the two groups, involve scientiic and
technological research applied to systems and products for conservation and restora-
tion processes; diagnostics and environmental monitoring; planning and execution of
interventions of restoration and maintenance; design services relating to architecture
and engineering, the design and construction of museum and exhibition installations,
including the use of multimedia technologies.



                                                                                              205
                                                                                           C. RHÔNE-POULENC

                                                                                            Rhône-Poulenc (now Rhodia for the chemical industry and Aventis for the pharma-
                                                                                        ceutical industry) has restored the façade of the Senate Palace in Rome and the Vitto-
                                                                                        rio Emanuele gallery in Milan [14], using, inter alia, ethyl silicate for works of consolida-
                                                                                        tion, biocides for cleaning operations and silicone-based resins for the inal treatment
                                                                                        of all surfaces. Rhone-Poulenc research has been applied in the restoration of several
                                                                                        important art works in Italy since 1991. The products of the French group have been
                                                                                        employed, for example, in Milan, in the restoration of the Roman Columns that stand in
                                                                                        front of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Palazzo
                                                                                        Belgioioso and Palazzo Marino. Rhone-Poulenc also intervened in the restoration of
                                                                                        the Duomo in Como and the Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo.

                                                                                           D. MAPEI

                                                                                            Mapei, founded in Milan in 1937 [15-18], is today the world’s largest manufacturer of
                                                                                        adhesives and complementary products for the installation of loor and wall coverings
                                                                                        of all kinds. It is also specialized in related ields of chemical industry, such as water-
                                                                                        prooing, mortars, concrete additives and other specialty products for the recovery of
F. Trifirò* - The role of industrial research in the field of cultural heritage




                                                                                        historic buildings.
                                                                                            By using the results of its research and employing its skills and technologies to
                                                                                        improve interiors, such as inside a large museum or a medieval basilica, they are
                                                                                        made safer and more secure. In fact, Mapei has contributed to making some of the
                                                                                        most important art sites and cultural complexes viable and durable, both in Italy and
                                                                                        in other countries. The renovation and restoration of theTeatro alla Scala, Milan’s fa-
                                                                                        mous opera house, is the prestigious context in which Mapei’s expertise, technology
                                                                                        and research, combined with its great love for art, was taken advantage of to the full-
                                                                                        est [19]. Mapei’s contribution to the restoration of the Scala included: an analysis of
                                                                                        the stratiication of the looring in the stage area, which allowed the correct materials
                                                                                        and technologies to be deined for the recovery of the original tiled looring, one of the
                                                                                        last points that represent an example of the choices made by the Scala’s architect,
                                                                                        Giuseppe Piermariniν the cognitive investigation of the inishes and plaster of the walls
                                                                                        of the foyers that have enabled the nature of the more recent coatings of low quality to
                                                                                        be identiied and so determine the most suitable removal techniques to bring to light
                                                                                        the precious antique stuccoes in marmorino; the analysis of the existing gilding on the
                                                                                        decorative elements of the boxes that allowed it to be dated and therefore, permitted
                                                                                        the oldest gilding to be distinguished from the more recent. In this case too, it ensured
                                                                                        that suitable conservation techniques were subsequentlyused.
                                                                                            Mapei has also contributed, with its technologies and products, to the restoration of
                                                                                        Giorgio De Chirico’s Mysterious Baths in εilan, an important and signiicant work of art
                                                                                        in the Triennale Gardens. The Mysterious Baths are a sculptural polychrome complex
                                                                                        made in 1973 by Giorgio De Chirico in Milan’s Sempione Park.
                                                                                            Acrylic products were used to stand up to outdoor weathering, restoring all the sculp-
                                                                                        tures in the fountain to their originally painted bright colors, according to the artist’s project,
                                                                                        which was mapped by Mapei’s Color Laboratory using instrumental spectrophotometry.
                                                                                        Michelangelo Buonarroti’s last work, the Rondanini Pietà, found a new location in the
                                                                                        Museum of Rondanini Pietà, set up in the Spanish Hospital of the Sforza Castle in Mi-
                                                                                        lan. The transfer, which was part of the large-scale restoration project of the Spanish


                                                                                  206
Hospital was designed by εichele De δucchi. The inal project comes from the pro-
found relections on the need to ind a museum space that would enhance the evoca-
tive power of Michelangelo’s sculpture, making it accessible to a wide audience. Placed
in the center of the new exhibition hall, the Pieta rests on a cylindrical base which is
built into a platform made of bevelled sessile oak, which has systems of anti-vibration
(to protect the sculpture from any risk arising from the passing of underground trains)
and seismic isolation. The project saw Mapei’s participation, which involved providing
looring materials and technologies, starting from the regularization of the substrate
with Ultraplan Maxi, a product used for its rapid setting self-leveling smoothness and
low emission of volatile organic substances (Emicode EC1 R Plus). The parquet was
later laid with the aid of Ultrabond ECO S968 1K, a single-component adhesive based
on silylated polymers, completely solvent-free and without plasticizers, it has a very
low emission of volatile organic substances.
    In 2010, Mapei participated in the FAI project (Italian Environment Fund) for the
restoration of the Fontana delle 99 cannelle (a historic fountain with 99 pipe-shaped
spouts) an important symbol for the town of L’Aquila (Italy), damaged by the 2009
earthquake. It also provided technical consultancy and speciic products for the con-
solidation and reinforcement of many buildings.
    In addition to εapei’s restoration work, it carried out the waterprooing and protec-
tion of the building elements, the cortical consolidation of different types of mechanical-
ly weakened and laking (porous stone, bricks, tuff stone, mortar beds, plasters, etc.),
by means of impregnationν consolidation of masonry and plastersν dehumidiication of
walls using binders and mortars for plasters; protection and decoration of traditional
plasters that have a lime-cement and /or concrete base; protection and decoration of
breathable, dehumidifying and structural plasters.

   E. CIR




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
   CIR (Chimica Italiana Restauri) [20] is today a well-established company renowned
for the hi-tech content of its chemical formulations, speciically developed for use in the
ield of architectural and monumental heritage. It is highly appreciated by the bodies
assigned to protecting and monitoring heritage structures and to the restoration and
maintenance of historical and monumental cultural heritage.
   CIR began its activity in the early eighties with the aim of offering the building
industry looring and facade treatments with improved performance that were able
to guarantee better results, greater durability and interventions of excellent quality.
CIR’s products include detergents, consolidating and protective agents for stone and
absorbent building materialsν they also ind application in the ield of civil construction.
CIR has proposed a full range of chemical formulations for the restoration of historical
and monumental buildings, as well as for civil construction: the range includes per-
manent anti-scratch protection, antismog protection, ecological products and deter-
gents for the removal of grafiti and grafiti persistent halos, ecological and super-fast
gel paint strippers for removing mural paint, varnishes and enamels. CIR’s products
include: lithium silicate based consolidators in aqueous solution; high penetration
acrylic insulators for non-cohesive mineral surfaces; water-repellent acrylic-siloxane
protective consolidation; transpiring water-repellent protectors; protection against the
growth and proliferation of biodeteriogenic microorganisms; leaners and detergents
for artifacts, delicate stones, plaster and non-delicate limestones; sanitizing detergents


                                                                                              207
                                                                                        and anti-re-growth treatments; products for protection against molds, algae and musk,
                                                                                        eflorescence and iniltrationν anti-stain products for glass surfaces and color brighten-
                                                                                        ers; polyurethane-based treatments for surface protection.
                                                                                            It may seem etymologically contradictory to associate art with work, but the ability to
                                                                                        combine these apparently distant concepts of art and work is the mission that various
                                                                                        Italian and foreign industries have always pursued and that have decreed their suc-
                                                                                        cess throughout the world.


                                                                                              References

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   Biographical notes

   Prof. Ferruccio Triirò was born in Barce (Libya) on June 17, 1938. He graduated
in Chemical Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano in 1963 under the guidance of
Prof. Giulio Natta (Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963). In 1965 he worked at the Prague
Academy of Physical Chemistry at the Academy of Sciences of Czechoslovakia. In
1968 he obtained a scholarship at the Department of Chemistry at the University of
Reading (UK); in 1974 he won a scholarship (Alexander von Humboldt) at the Institute
of Industrial Chemistry at the University of Erlangen (Germany) In November 1975
he was appointed professor of industrial chemistry at the Faculty of Engineering in
Cosenza, Italy; in November 1976 he was called to Bologna University to work at
the Faculty of Industrial Chemistry. His main research activity has been in the ield of
heterogeneous catalysis through oxidation and hydrogenation applied to the synthesis
of the main intermediates and to a lesser extent in the ield of homogenous catalysis,
environmental catalysis and biomass transformation, through gasiication chemistry,
into raw materials. He is the author of 517 scientiic publications, 24 patents, 5 books
published abroad in English in the ield of oxidation processesν editor of 8 books, 17
teaching reviews and has made 400 presentations in congresses. He is the author of
200 Italian articles in the ield of chemistry.
   He is a professor emeritus of the University of Bologna; director of the magazine,
chemistry and industry since 1996; president of the Academy of Sciences of the Istituto
di Bolognaν scientiic member of the OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemi-




                                                                                                       CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
cal Weapons) and Scientiic Adviser for Innovative Technologies for Environmental
Control and Sustainable Development (TICASS), a consortium in Liguria.



   Summary
   This paper reports on several activities carried out in Italy in the restoration of cultur-
al heritage by the following industries: Eni, Rhone Poulenc, Syremont, Mapei and CIR.
Their activities, in this particular sector, involve the development of new chemical prod-
ucts for the restoration of architectural and monumental heritage, diagnostic analyses
to characterize deterioration and the inancing of conservation and restoration work.

    Riassunto
    In questa nota state riportate alcune attività nel restauro di beni culturali realizzate
in Italia da parte delle seguenti industrie: Eni, RhonePoulenc, Mapei Syremont e CIR.
Le attività delle diverse aziende sono state: la messa a punto di nuovi prodotti chimici
per le opere di restauro, analisi diagnostiche per caratterizzare il deterioramento ed
intervenire anche con inanziamenti per le opere di restauro.




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