An important part of the Italian cultural heritage is constituted by monuments built using natural stones. Unfortunately some of the stone resources used for building, architectural and sculptural purposes are no longer available and our knowledge is restricted at the materials used for them. This fact can cause problems during stone material research for new monuments and can influence restoring actions in historical monuments, when the architects and restores have to choose suitable alternative materials without changing the character of the monument. The Riminaldi's Lithotheque was donated in the 1763 at the Ferrara Borough by the nobleman prelate Gian Maria Riminaldi and currently is displayed at the Bonacossi Palace in Ferrara. The Riminaldi's Lithotheque is unique and made with extreme care and accuracy; it well represents the double aspects pursued during the Age of Enlightenment where the erudite people were interested in sciences and antiquities. The Riminaldi's Lithotheque well synthesize the great marble works season in Rome during the middle of the XVIII century. The Lithotheque is constituted by a small wood “consolle” with an intricate manufacturing; inside it is composed by 131 plugs of natural stones, each one classified using its Latin name. In this work each type of rock represented in the Lithotheque will be characterized using a petrographical approach. The stone materials in the Lithotheque have been then compared with the materials presented in the published stone Atlases in order to identify authentic lithologies, or stone showing similar properties. The results will be useful in the choice of better stone materials during the reconstruction of historical monuments.
Stone materials' archives: the case study of the Riminaldi's Lithotheque in Ferrara, Italy
MARROCCHINO, Elena;VACCARO, Carmela
2008
Abstract
An important part of the Italian cultural heritage is constituted by monuments built using natural stones. Unfortunately some of the stone resources used for building, architectural and sculptural purposes are no longer available and our knowledge is restricted at the materials used for them. This fact can cause problems during stone material research for new monuments and can influence restoring actions in historical monuments, when the architects and restores have to choose suitable alternative materials without changing the character of the monument. The Riminaldi's Lithotheque was donated in the 1763 at the Ferrara Borough by the nobleman prelate Gian Maria Riminaldi and currently is displayed at the Bonacossi Palace in Ferrara. The Riminaldi's Lithotheque is unique and made with extreme care and accuracy; it well represents the double aspects pursued during the Age of Enlightenment where the erudite people were interested in sciences and antiquities. The Riminaldi's Lithotheque well synthesize the great marble works season in Rome during the middle of the XVIII century. The Lithotheque is constituted by a small wood “consolle” with an intricate manufacturing; inside it is composed by 131 plugs of natural stones, each one classified using its Latin name. In this work each type of rock represented in the Lithotheque will be characterized using a petrographical approach. The stone materials in the Lithotheque have been then compared with the materials presented in the published stone Atlases in order to identify authentic lithologies, or stone showing similar properties. The results will be useful in the choice of better stone materials during the reconstruction of historical monuments.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
