CNR-ICVBC

What is the role of cultural heritage in multi-ethnic societies, where
cultural memory is often polarized by antagonistic identity traditions?
Is it possible for monuments that are generally considered as a symbol
of national unity to become emblems of the conflictual histories
still undermining divided societies? Taking as a starting point the
cosmopolitanism that blossomed across the Mediterranean in the age of
empires, this book addresses the issue of heritage exploring the concepts
of memory, culture, monuments and their uses, in different case studies
ranging from 19th century Salonica, Port Said, the Palestinian region
under Ottoman rule, Trieste and Rijeka under the Hapsburgs, up to the
recent post-war reconstructions of Beirut and Sarajevo.

Secondo appuntamento della rassegna seminariale "Da migranti a coloni".

Andrea Zappia, Università di Genova , La nazione ebrea a Genova tra XVII e XVIII secolo: strategie, interessi, criticità:;

Viviana Tagliaferri, ISEM-CNR, Forestieri e non Riflessioni sulla presenza straniera nell'area portuale di Valletta e delle Tre Città (fine '600-inizio '700);

in dialogo con Heleni Porfyriou, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR-DSU).

In the past three decades, the built heritage of the Tulou and their associated landscapes have undergone huge transformations, mainly because heritage values are not properly acknowledged. Now, the priority is to strengthen the assessment of heritage value in order to design innovative conservation and development strategies that fully take both conservation requirements and how to enhance people's lives into consideration. Based on research conducted by the School of Architecture of Xiamen University, this paper first assesses the main conservation and development challenges of the Fujian Tulou. Secondly，it discusses an Italian operational tool for conservation and revitalisation, the "Recovery Handbooks" and "Codes", developed over the last thirty years. It explores how their methodology can provide an appropriate framework for developing the body of knowledge needed to draft the "Fujian Tulou Recovery Handbook": a new conservation and protection tool to safeguard heritage values and their physical carrying attributes.

The extraordinary monumental complex of the 11 rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, included in the UNESCO's world heritage list since 1978, attracted the attention of the conservation science community mainly for their severe chemical weathering, physical decay and structural instability. This study, based on classical modal mineralogy and petrography of samples coming from seven churches (Biet Medhane-Alem, Biet Mariam, Trinity Church, Biet Giyorgis, Biet Amanuel, Biet Abba-Lebanos and Biet Gabriel Rufael), sorts out ambiguous rock-nomenclatures and lithological definitions, which have been found in the literature of the last three decades. We can now affirm that the churches were carved in hydrothermally altered and partially lateritized basaltic scorias (nearly aphyric and highly vesicular). The hewn rock, often reported in literature as "weathered basic tuffs", can be thus classified as a basaltic scoria deposit, partially welded by syn-post magmatic hydrothermal alteration. Its pyroclastic origin may have strongly enhanced selective weathering. The hewn rock rests on a massive to slightly fractured basalt, still present as bedrock of the Lalibela churches and belonging to lava sequences of the Northern Ethiopian Plateau (continental flood basalts). Despite the severe hydrothermal alteration and partial lateritization of the samples, modal mineralogy, petrography and major-trace elements chemistry strongly suggest that the studied clinopyroxene-olivine transitional basaltic scorias of the churches derive from the same magma type, which gave rise to the Lalibela high-titanium group 2 (HT2) of the Northern Ethiopian Plateau lava flows. The late-stage and post-magmatic phases (smectites, zeolites and calcite) scattered in the groundmass and filling the large subspherical vesicles of the basaltic scorias really represent a typical hydrothermal facies of continental flood basalts. Most of the secondary hydrothermal minerals are pointed out first, as well as appropriate modal mineralogy and petrography, providing useful insights towards unraveling the causes of deterioration of these world heritage monuments. A special emphasis is devoted to the presence of zeolite minerals, never pointed out before this study in the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, and their possible roles on cyclic adsorbing and release of water.

The "marble" Portasanta from Caldana (Grosseto, Italy) takes its name from the strict resemblance to the ancient Marmor Chium (also this called Portasanta) coming from the island of Chios in Greece. In this work, a complete characterization of the Italian Portasanta was made: chemical (X-ray fluorescence and isotopic analyses), mineralogical (X-ray diffraction on the bulk sample and on insoluble residue after acid attack), physical (water accessible porosity and imbibition coefficients), petrographical (optical microscopy) and mechanical (compressive strength test) analyses have been carried out in order to obtain a better distinction between Italian and Greek "marble", sometimes mistaken. The Portasanta from Caldana (Italy) was quarried surely in the sixteenth century, but a possible use of this material during Roman time is still in doubt. The study of samples from some Tuscan archaeological sites (Torraccia di Chiusi, Siena and Roselle, Grosseto) allows us to confirm the use of Portasanta from Chios for the Torraccia site and that of Caldana for Roselle.

The Vie Cave are a suggestive network of roads deeply entrenched in the rock, dating back to the Etruscan civilization; these ancient roads connect various settlements and necropolises existing mainly in the area of Sovana, Sorano and Pitigliano towns (Southern Tuscany, Italy). The Vie Cave are located in a peculiar geomorphological site, characterized by the presence of extensive pyroclastic deposits, which have been incised by a parallel network of deep gorges. In this paper, the geomorphological, geological and lithological setting of the Vie Cave area, where several Etruscan archaeological sites are found, are described. The precarious stability of the Vie Cave walls and the several archaeological structures carved into them, the high grade of decay shown by the constituent materials, together with the dense vegetation that has developed over the rocky scarps, are taken into account with the aim to provide a complete assessment of the conditions in which the site lies. Finally, we propose some targeted actions related to the preservation of this territory, showing so distinctive morphology, in order to protect the area from further decay to which it would be subjected if it remained abandoned. OPEN ACCESS Sustainability 2015, 7 7531

The paper reports the results of an experimental investigation carried out in order to determinate the physical and mechanical properties of the earth material utilized in the Drâa valley (Morocco) for the building made of pisé and adobe. In Drâa valley, a millennial heritage of earthen buildings of great architectonic value (ksar and kasbah) is present.
The analyzes were carried out on different kind of earth, utilized both for adobe and pisé building. The earths were characterized through the study of the mineralogical composition, the determination of the grain size and the consistency limits.
The mechanical properties were determined both in laboratory through mechanical test and in situ through sclerometers analysis.
The results of the compositional, physical and mechanical analyses makes it possible to evaluate the suitability of the utilized earths as construction materials and to propose improvement methods.

ABSTRACT Portoro is one of the most famous Italian black limestones due to its characteristic golden-yellow veins on a black background. It was used since Roman times, mainly in the city of Luni. Since the Middle Ages, its use is widespread in Genoa, and from the XVII century, it became one of the most common stones in religious buildings throughout Italy. At the end of the XIX century, its use has spread abroad, particularly in Europe and USA. It was extracted in several quarrying areas located near La Spezia, but at present, only five quarries are active. This stone, exposed to weathering, tends to bleach losing the appearance of its golden streaks that determine its aesthetic appeal. This research deals with the petrographic and chemical characterization of the Portoro macchia larga variety as well as the study of its chromatic alteration in order to define guidelines for the most suitable use of this stone and for restoration works.

Within the huge hypogean complex of San Callisto, Rome, Italy, we are investigating the Roman Catacombs of Santi Marco, Marcelliano e Damaso whose appellation derives from the names of the two most famous Christian martyrs and the pope Damaso buried therein. The cubicles currently studied date back to the second half of the 4th century AD, and contain decorated surfaces, such as the painting depicting the Twelve Apostles over the arcosolium and the peacocks in the niches within the namesake cubicle. Taking into account the dual perspective ‘heritage conservation and promotion, this work presents the results of the biological investigations carried out at the entrance of these Roman Catacombs and close to a skylight from which the sunlight partially illuminates the corridor. A microclimate monitoring was complementarily performed, based on the evidence that the indoor microclimate is not always necessarily constant and microbial colonies frequently change their appearance throughout ...