Digital library of historical cartography: open access to cultural heritage and public good

This paper describes the integration of information between Digital Library of Historical Cartography and Bibliographical Database (DEDALUS), both of the University of São Paulo (USP), to guarantee open, public access by Internet to the maps in the collection and make them available to users everywhere. This digital library was designed by Historical Cartography Studies Laboratory team (LECH/USP), and provides maps images on the Web, of high resolution, as well as such information on these maps as technical-scientific data (projection, scale, coordinates), printing techniques and material support that have made their circulation and cultural consumption possible. The Digital Library of Historical Cartography is accessible not only to the historical cartography researchers, but also to students and the general public. Beyond being a source of information about maps, the Digital Library of Historical Cartography seeks to be interactive, exchanging information and seeking dialogue with different branches of knowledge

Identidad en tránsito : la interpretación cultural y la puesta en valor del patrimonio intangible

Programa de Doctorado: Fuentes, Métodos e Historiografía para la Investigación en el Mundo Atlántico

Application of FTIR microscopy to cultural heritage materials

Research in art conservation has been developed from the early 1950s, giving a significant contribution to the conservation-restoration of cultural heritage artefacts. In fact, only through a profound knowledge about the nature and conditions of constituent materials, suitable decisions on the conservation and restoration measures can thus be adopted and preservation practices enhanced. The study of ancient artworks is particularly challenging as they can be considered as heterogeneous and multilayered systems where numerous interactions between the different components as well as degradation and ageing phenomena take place. However, difficulties to physically separate the different layers due to their thickness (1-200 µm) can result in the inaccurate attribution of the identified compounds to a specific layer. Therefore, details can only be analysed when the sample preparation method leaves the layer structure intact, as for example the preparation of embedding cross sections in synthetic resins. Hence, spatially resolved analytical techniques are required not only to exactly characterize the nature of the compounds but also to obtain precise chemical and physical information about ongoing changes. This thesis focuses on the application of FTIR microspectroscopic techniques for cultural heritage materials. The first section is aimed at introducing the use of FTIR microscopy in conservation science with a particular attention to the sampling criteria and sample preparation methods. The second section is aimed at evaluating and validating the use of different FTIR microscopic analytical methods applied to the study of different art conservation issues which may be encountered dealing with cultural heritage artefacts: the characterisation of the artistic execution technique (chapter II-1), the studies on degradation phenomena (chapter II-2) and finally the evaluation of protective treatments (chapter II-3). The third and last section is divided into three chapters which underline recent developments in FTIR spectroscopy for the characterisation of paint cross sections and in particular thin organic layers: a newly developed preparation method with embedding systems in infrared transparent salts (chapter III-1), the new opportunities offered by macro-ATR imaging spectroscopy (chapter III-2) and the possibilities achieved with the different FTIR microspectroscopic techniques nowadays available (chapter III-3). In chapter II-1, FTIR microspectroscopy as molecular analysis, is presented in an integrated approach with other analytical techniques. The proposed sequence is optimized in function of the limited quantity of sample available and this methodology permits to identify the painting materials and characterise the adopted execution technique and state of conservation. Chapter II-2 describes the characterisation of the degradation products with FTIR microscopy since the investigation on the ageing processes encountered in old artefacts represents one of the most important issues in conservation research. Metal carboxylates resulting from the interaction between pigments and binding media are characterized using synthesised metal palmitates and their production is detected on copper-, zinc-, manganese- and lead- (associated with lead carbonate) based pigments dispersed either in oil or egg tempera. Moreover, significant effects seem to be obtained with iron and cobalt (acceleration of the triglycerides hydrolysis). For the first time on sienna and umber paints, manganese carboxylates are also observed. Finally in chapter II-3, FTIR microscopy is combined with further elemental analyses to characterise and estimate the performances and stability of newly developed treatments, which should better fit conservation-restoration problems. In the second part, in chapter III-1, an innovative embedding system in potassium bromide is reported focusing on the characterisation and localisation of organic substances in cross sections. Not only the identification but also the distribution of proteinaceous, lipidic or resinaceous materials, are evidenced directly on different paint cross sections, especially in thin layers of the order of 10 µm. Chapter III-2 describes the use of a conventional diamond ATR accessory coupled with a focal plane array to obtain chemical images of multi-layered paint cross sections. A rapid and simple identification of the different compounds is achieved without the use of any infrared microscope objectives. Finally, the latest FTIR techniques available are highlighted in chapter III-3 in a comparative study for the characterisation of paint cross sections. Results in terms of spatial resolution, data quality and chemical information obtained are presented and in particular, a new FTIR microscope equipped with a linear array detector, which permits reducing the spatial resolution limit to approximately 5 µm, provides very promising results and may represent a good alternative to either mapping or imaging systems.

La costruzione razionale della casa. Scritti e progetti di Giuseppe Pagano

The rational construction of the house. The writings and projects of Giuseppe Pagano Description, themes and research objectives The research aims at analysing the architecture of Giuseppe Pagano, which focuses on the theme of dwelling, through the reading of 3 of his house projects. On the one hand, these projects represent “minor” works not thoroughly known by Pagano’s contemporary critics; on the other they emphasise a particular methodological approach, which serves the author to explore a theme closely linked to his theoretical thought. The house project is a key to Pagano’s research, given its ties to the socio-cultural and political conditions in which the architect was working, so that it becomes a mirror of one of his specific and theoretical path, always in a state of becoming. Pagano understands architecture as a “servant of the human being”, subject to a “utilitarian slavery” since it is a clear, essential and “modest” answer to specific human needs, free from aprioristic aesthetic and formal choices. It is a rational architecture in sensu stricto; it constitutes a perfect synthesis between cause and effect and between function and form. The house needs to accommodate these principles because it is closely intertwined with human needs and intimately linked to a specific place, climatic conditions and technical and economical possibilities. Besides, differently from his public and common masterpieces such as the Palazzo Gualino, the Istituto di Fisica and the Università Commerciale Bocconi, the house projects are representative of a precise project will, which is expressed in a more authentic way, partially freed from political influences and dogmatic preoccupations and, therefore, far from the attempt to research a specific expressive language. I believe that the house project better represents that “ingenuity”, freshness and “sincerity” that Pagano identifies with the minor architecture, thereby revealing a more authentic expression of his understanding of a project. Therefore, the thesis, by tracing the theoretical research of Pagano through the analysis of some of his designed and built works, attempts to identify a specific methodological approach to Pagano’s project, which, developed through time, achieves a certain clarity in the 1930s. In fact, this methodological approach becomes more evident in his last projects, mainly regarding the house and the urban space. These reflect the attempt to respond to the new social needs and, at the same time, they also are an expression of a freer idea of built architecture, closely linked with the place and with the human being who dwells it. The three chosen projects (Villa Colli, La Casa a struttura d’acciaio and Villa Caraccio) make Pagano facing different places, different customers and different economic and technical conditions, which, given the author’s biography, correspond to important historical and political conditions. This is the reason why the projects become apparently distant works, both linguistically and conceptually, to the point that one can define them as ”eclectic”. However, I argue that this eclecticism is actually an added value to the architectural work of Pagano, steaming from the use of a method which, having as a basis the postulate of a rational architecture as essence and logic of building, finds specific variations depending on the multiple variables to be addressed by the project. This is the methodological heritage that Pagano learns from the tradition, especially that of the rural residential architecture, defined by Pagano as a “dictionary of the building logic of man”, as an “a-stylistic background”. For Pagano this traditional architecture is a clear expression of the relationships between a theme and its development, an architectural “fact” that is resolved with purely technical and utilitarian aims and with a spontaneous development far from any aprioristic theoretical principle. Architecture, therefore, cannot be an invention for Pagano and the personal contribution of each architect has to consider his/her close relationship with the specific historical context, place and new building methods. These are basic principles in the methodological approach that drives a great deal of his research and that also permits his thought to be modern. I argue that both ongoing and new collaborations with younger protagonists of the culture and architecture of the period are significant for the development of his methodology. These encounters represent the will to spread his own understanding of the “new architecture” as well as a way of self-renewal by confronting the self with new themes and realities and by learning from his collaborators. Thesis’ outline The thesis is divided in two principal parts, each articulated in four chapters attempting to offer a new reading of the theory and work of Pagano by emphasising the central themes of the research. The first chapter is an introduction to the thesis and to the theme of the rational house, as understood and developed in its typological and technical aspects by Pagano and by other protagonists of the Italian rationalism of the 1930s. Here the attention is on two different aspects defining, according to Pagano, the house project: on the one hand, the typological renewal, aimed at defining a “standard form” as a clear and essential answer to certain needs and variables of the project leading to different formal expressions. On the other, it focuses on the building, understood as a technique to “produce” architecture, where new technologies and new materials are not merely tools but also essential elements of the architectural work. In this way the villa becomes different from the theme of the common house or from that of the minimalist house, by using rules in the choice of material and in the techniques that are every time different depending on the theme under exploration and on the contingency of place. It is also visible the rigorous rationalism that distinguishes the author's appropriation of certain themes of rural architecture. The pages of “Casabella” and the events of the contemporary Triennali form the preliminary material for the writing of this chapter given that they are primary sources to individuate projects and writings produced by Pagano and contemporary architects on this theme. These writings and projects, when compared, reconstruct the evolution of the idea of the rational house and, specifically, of the personal research of Pagano. The second part regards the reading of three of Pagano’s projects of houses as a built verification of his theories. This section constitutes the central part of the thesis since it is aimed at detecting a specific methodological approach showing a theoretical and ideological evolution expressed in the vast edited literature. The three projects that have been chosen explore the theme of the house, looking at various research themes that the author proposes and that find continuity in the affirmation of a specific rationalism, focussed on concepts such as essentiality, utility, functionality and building honesty. These concepts guide the thought and the activities of Pagano, also reflecting a social and cultural period. The projects span from the theme of the villa moderna, Villa Colli, which, inspired by the architecture of North Europe, anticipates a specific rationalism of Pagano based on rigour, simplicity and essentiality, to the theme of the common house, Casa a struttura d’acciaio, la casa del domani, which ponders on the definition of new living spaces and, moreover, on new concepts of standardisation, economical efficiency and new materials responding to the changing needs of the modern society. Finally, the third project returns to the theme of the, Villa Caraccio, revisiting it with new perspectives. These perspectives find in the solution of the open plant, in the openness to nature and landscape and in the revisiting of materials and local building systems that idea of the freed house, which express clearly a new theoretical thought. Methodology It needs to be noted that due to the lack of an official Archive of Pagano’s work, the analysis of his work has been difficult and this explains the necessity to read the articles and the drawings published in the pages of «Casabella» and «Domus». As for the projects of Villa Colli and Casa a struttura d’acciaio, parts of the original drawings have been consulted. These drawings are not published and are kept in private archives of the collaborators of Pagano. The consultation of these documents has permitted the analysis of the cited works, which have been subject to a more complete reading following the different proposed solutions, which have permitted to understand the project path. The projects are analysed thought the method of comparison and critical reading which, specifically, means graphical elaborations and analytical schemes, mostly reconstructed on the basis of original projects but, where possible, also on a photographic investigation. The focus is on the project theme which, beginning with a specific living (dwelling) typology, finds variations because of the historico-political context in which Pagano is embedded and which partially shapes his research and theoretical thought, then translated in the built work. The analysis of the work follows, beginning, where possible, from a reconstruction of the evolution of the project as elaborated on the basis of the original documents and ending on an analysis of the constructive principles and composition. This second phase employs a methodology proposed by Pagano in his article Piante di ville, which, as expected, focuses on the plant as essential tool to identify the “true practical and poetic qualities of the construction”(Pagano, «Costruzioni-Casabella», 1940, p. 2). The reading of the project is integrated with the constructive analyses related to the technical aspects of the house which, in the case of Casa a struttura d’acciaio, play an important role in the project, while in Villa Colli and in Villa Caraccio are principally linked to the choice of materials for the construction of the different architectural elements. These are nonetheless key factors in the composition of the work. Future work could extend this reading to other house projects to deepen the research that could be completed with the consultation of Archival materials, which are missing at present. Finally, in the appendix I present a critical selection of the Pagano’s writings, which recall the themes discussed and embodied by the three projects. The texts have been selected among the articles published in Casabella and in other journals, completing the reading of the project work which cannot be detached from his theoretical thought. Moving from theory to project, we follow a path that brings us to define and deepen the central theme of the thesis: rational building as the principal feature of the architectural research of Pagano, which is paraphrased in multiple ways in his designed and built works.

Multi-pollutants impact on modern cement built heritage

It is well known that the deposition of gaseous pollutants and aerosols plays a major role in causing the deterioration of monuments and built cultural heritage in European cities. Despite of many studies dedicated to the environmental damage of cultural heritage, in case of cement mortars, commonly used in the 20th century architecture, the deterioration due to air multipollutants impact, especially the formation of black crusts, is still not well explored making this issue a challenging area of research. This work centers on cement mortars – environment interactions, focusing on the diagnosis of the damage on the modern built heritage due to air multi-pollutants. For this purpose three sites, exposed to different urban areas in Europe, were selected for sampling and subsequent laboratory analyses: Centennial Hall, Wroclaw (Poland), Chiesa dell'Autostrada del Sole, Florence (Italy), Casa Galleria Vichi, Florence (Italy). The sampling sessions were performed taking into account the height from the ground level and protection from rain run off (sheltered, partly sheltered and exposed areas). The complete characterization of collected damage layer and underlying materials was performed using a range of analytical techniques: optical and scanning electron microscopy, X ray diffractometry, differential and gravimetric thermal analysis, ion chromatography, flash combustion/gas chromatographic analysis, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer. The data were elaborated using statistical methods (i.e. principal components analyses) and enrichment factor for cement mortars was calculated for the first time. The results obtained from the experimental activity performed on the damage layers indicate that gypsum, due to the deposition of atmospheric sulphur compounds, is the main damage product at surfaces sheltered from rain run-off at Centennial Hall and Casa Galleria Vichi. By contrast, gypsum has not been identified in the samples collected at Chiesa dell'Autostrada del Sole. This is connected to the restoration works, particularly surface cleaning, regularly performed for the maintenance of the building. Moreover, the results obtained demonstrated the correlation between the location of the building and the composition of the damage layer: Centennial Hall is mainly undergoing to the impact of pollutants emitted from the close coal power stations, whilst Casa Galleria Vichi is principally affected by pollutants from vehicular exhaust in front of the building.

Trasmission and Reflection (ATR)Far-Infrared Spectroscopy Applied in the Analysis of Cultural Heritage Materials

FIR spectroscopy is an alternative way of collecting spectra of many inorganic pigments and corrosion products found on art objects, which is not normally observed in the MIR region. Most FIR spectra are traditionally collected in transmission mode but as a real novelty it is now also possible to record FIR spectra in ATR (Attenuated Total Reflectance) mode. In FIR transmission we employ polyethylene (PE) for preparation of pellets by embedding the sample in PE. Unfortunately, the preparation requires heating of the PE in order to produces at transparent pellet. This will affect compounds with low melting points, especially those with structurally incorporated water. Another option in FIR transmission is the use of thin films. We test the use of polyethylene thin film (PETF), both commercial and laboratory-made PETF. ATR collection of samples is possible in both the MIR and FIR region on solid, powdery or liquid samples. Changing from the MIR to the FIR region is easy as it simply requires the change of detector and beamsplitter (which can be performed within a few minutes). No preparation of the sample is necessary, which is a huge advantage over the PE transmission method. The most obvious difference, when comparing transmission with ATR, is the distortion of band shape (which appears asymmetrical in the lower wavenumber region) and intensity differences. However, the biggest difference can be the shift of strong absorbing bands moving to lower wavenumbers in ATR mode. The sometimes huge band shift necessitates the collection of standard library spectra in both FIR transmission and ATR modes, provided these two methods of collecting are to be employed for analyses of unknown samples. Standard samples of 150 pigment and corrosion compounds are thus collected in both FIR transmission and ATR mode in order to build up a digital library of spectra for comparison with unknown samples. XRD, XRF and Raman spectroscopy assists us in confirming the purity or impurity of our standard samples. 24 didactic test tables, with known pigment and binder painted on the surface of a limestone tablet, are used for testing the established library and different ways of collecting in ATR and transmission mode. In ATR, micro samples are scratched from the surface and examined in both the MIR and FIR region. Additionally, direct surface contact of the didactic tablets with the ATR crystal are tested together with water enhanced surface contact. In FIR transmission we compare the powder from our test tablet on the laboratory PETF and embedded in PE. We also compare the PE pellets collected using a 4x beam condenser, focusing the IR beam area from 8 mm to 2 mm. A few samples collected from a mural painting in a Nepalese temple, corrosion products collected from archaeological Chinese bronze objects and samples from a mural paintings in an Italian abbey, are examined by ATR or transmission spectroscopy.

A Semantic-based Framework for Digital Survey of Architectural Heritage

The research aims at developing a framework for semantic-based digital survey of architectural heritage. Rooted in knowledge-based modeling which extracts mathematical constraints of geometry from architectural treatises, as-built information of architecture obtained from image-based modeling is integrated with the ideal model in BIM platform. The knowledge-based modeling transforms the geometry and parametric relation of architectural components from 2D printings to 3D digital models, and create large amount variations based on shape grammar in real time thanks to parametric modeling. It also provides prior knowledge for semantically segmenting unorganized survey data. The emergence of SfM (Structure from Motion) provides access to reconstruct large complex architectural scenes with high flexibility, low cost and full automation, but low reliability of metric accuracy. We solve this problem by combing photogrammetric approaches which consists of camera configuration, image enhancement, and bundle adjustment, etc. Experiments show the accuracy of image-based modeling following our workflow is comparable to that from range-based modeling. We also demonstrate positive results of our optimized approach in digital reconstruction of portico where low-texture-vault and dramatical transition of illumination bring huge difficulties in the workflow without optimization. Once the as-built model is obtained, it is integrated with the ideal model in BIM platform which allows multiple data enrichment. In spite of its promising prospect in AEC industry, BIM is developed with limited consideration of reverse-engineering from survey data. Besides representing the architectural heritage in parallel ways (ideal model and as-built model) and comparing their difference, we concern how to create as-built model in BIM software which is still an open area to be addressed. The research is supposed to be fundamental for research of architectural history, documentation and conservation of architectural heritage, and renovation of existing buildings.

Entomological monitoring in the cultural heritage facilities as prerequisite for a successful IPM programme

The European Committee for Standardization is working on a standard for the application of IPM (Integrated Pest Management) in museums and cultural heritage facilities. Since one of the aims of this research was to verify the approach against pests adopted in Italian conservation facilities, a survey was conducted. The results show that for the Italian museums, archives, libraries and historical houses pests are a problem, but IPM is unknown and prevention programmes to avoid damages caused by them, are not applied. In the most of cases pests problems are solved only when the risk is high and damages are visible. Also entomological monitoring, which represents a crucial part of IPM and could be very useful, is not included among the ordinary prevention activities. In addition, at present, the scientific researches on entomological traps, whether light or pheromones, for “cultural heritage pests” is extremely poor and only recently the behaviour and/or the physiology of the insects “of museums” have been investigated. For these reasons, tests to increase the traps using are performed. In particular, S. paniceum behaviour towards different attraction systems was investigated and the results indicate that the light traps efficiency could be improved using specific wavelengths and light sources.

Intangible and tangible heritage

‘Intangible and tangible heritage – a topology of culture in contexts of faith’ presents a conceptual framework which could enable heritage professionals to approach cul-tural heritage in a more holistic understanding. My work emphasizes opportunities for a re-combination – in conceptual and practical terms – of two recently divided heritage typologies: the so-called ‘intangible’ and ‘tangible’ heritage. In arguing that the above division cannot be maintained when observing the dynamic construction and re-affirmation processes of heritage and identity, and further, that this division is a risk to the preservation of the heritage of humankind, I will emphasize that it is important to halt and redirect the progressing divergence of the two fields. This is particularly necessary in the context of UNESCO, which is the driving force behind this conceptual separation. rnTo achieve a conceptual recombination I propose to approach heritage by means of topologies instead of typologies. In topological analysis the researcher’s focus shifts from heritage expressions towards ideas or concepts of heritage, which are defined as logos localised in place, topos, and are proposed to be analysed by means of semiotic phenomenology. Finally, I describe the findings of a topological analysis conducted for a particular heritage concept: the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

Negotiating conservation: the construction of meaningful spaces in a world heritage debate

According to one’s personal biography, social background and the resultant degree of affectedness, a person has certain ideas about the meaning of, in our example, a World Heritage Site (WHS), what he or she can expect from it and what his or her relation to it can and should be. The handling of potentially different meaningful spaces is decisive, when it comes to the negotiation of pathways towards the sustainable development of a WHS region. Due to the fact that – in a pluralistic world – multiple realities exist, they have to be taken seriously and adequately addressed. In this article we identified the ways the Jungfrau-Aletsch- WHS was constructed by exploring the visual and verbal representations of the WHS during the decision-making process (1998-2001). The results demonstrate that in the visual representations (images), the WHS was to a large extent presented as an unspoiled natural environment similar to a touristy promotion brochure. Such a ‘picture-book’-like portrait has no direct link to the population’s daily needs, their questions and anxieties about the consequences of a WHS label. By contrast, the verbal representations (articles, letters-to-the-editor, comments) were dominated by issues concerning the economic development of the region, fears of disappropriation, and different views on nature. Whereas visual and verbal representations to a large extent differ significantly, their combination might have contributed to the final decision of the majority of people concerned to support the application for inscription of the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn region into the World Heritage list. The prominence of economic arguments and narratives about intergenerational responsibility in the verbal representations and their combination with the aesthetic appeal of the natural environment in the visual representations might have built a common meaningful space for one part of the population.

Sustainable regional development: Reconciling global and local dynamics and stakes in the Swiss Alps

This article explores how global and local dynamics and stakes can be brought together when trying to combine conservation and regional development. For this purpose we analyse a series of studies carried out in the area of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site (WHS). The approaches used in these studies to analyse the diversity and development of the region included data collection and evaluation of indicators such as population development, number of working places, occupation rates in various economic sectors and commuter balance, as well as interviews with key informants and assessment of existing planning tools. The major challenge of the newly declared World Heritage Region is that it is neither a political or administrative nor a cultural unit but constitutes a completely new type of space that breaks up and crosses traditional boundaries. The studies revealed an economic tertiarisation process and migration of the population from remote areas to regional centres. Tourism was identified as the key economic sector in the region. Regarding regional sustainability, the studies identified a need for quality dialogue and negotiation of interests and stakes. It was shown that in dealing with sustainability at the local level, many key issues cannot be resolved on the ground, as they depend on regional or national decisions, e.g. the conditions for tourism promotion in the region or economic validation of agricultural activity. We conclude from these findings that national or even international factors do not provide a basis for location-specific solutions, as they are often too general, and that the global label does not ensure sustainability in a designated WHS region; this depends entirely on local and regional dynamics.

Managing a World Heritage Site: Potentials and limitations of transdisciplinary approaches

Balancing the frequently conflicting priorities of conservation and economic development poses a challenge to management of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau- Aletsch World Heritage Site (WHS). This is a complex societal problem that calls for a knowledge-based solution. This in turn requires a transdisciplinary research framework in which problems are defined and solved cooperatively by actors from the scientific community and the life-world. In this article we re-examine studies carried out in the region of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch WHS, covering three key issues prevalent in transdisciplinary settings: integration of stakeholders into participatory processes; perceptions and positions; and negotiability and implementation. In the case of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch WHS the transdisciplinary setting created a situation of mutual learning among stakeholders from different levels and backgrounds. However, the studies showed that the benefits of such processes of mutual learning are continuously at risk of being diminished by the power play inherent in participatory approaches.