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S.S. Annunziata Church (L’Aquila, Italy) unveiled by non- and micro-destructive testing techniques

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Abstract

The present research work explores the potential of an integrated inspection methodology, combining Non-destructive testing and micro-destructive analytical techniques, for both the structural assessment of the S.S. Annunziata Church located in Roio Colle (L’Aquila, Italy) and the characterization of its wall paintings’ pigments. The study started by applying passive thermal imaging for the structural monitoring of the church before and after the application of a consolidation treatment, while active thermal imaging was further used for assessing this consolidation procedure. After the earthquake of 2009, which seriously damaged the city of L’Aquila and its surroundings, part of the internal plaster fell off revealing the presence of an ancient mural painting that was subsequently investigated by means of a combined analytical approach involving portable VIS–NIR fiber optics diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and laboratory methods, such as environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The results obtained from the thermographic analysis provided information concerning the two different constrictive phases of the Church, enabled the assessment of the consolidation treatment, and contributed to the detection of localized problems mainly related to the rising damp phenomenon and to biological attack. In addition, the results obtained from the combined analytical approach allowed the identification of the wall painting pigments (red and yellow ochre, green earth, and smalt) and provided information on the binding media and the painting technique possibly applied by the artist. From the results of the present study, it is possible to conclude that the joint use of the above stated methods into an integrated methodology can produce the complete set of useful information required for the planning of the Church’s restoration phase.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Mr. Giovanni Pasqualoni of the University of L’Aquila for the valuable assistance during the IRT inspections. The authors want also to thank the continuous support of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Ambientali, Architettonici, Artistici e Storici per l’Abruzzo (Italy), as well as Mr. Antonio Mignemi (restorer) for the kind help during the sample taking procedure. Finally, the authors are also in debt with Agnese Anna Aureli (a mother-tongue English professor) for her valuable comments on the English language.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Las.E.R. Laboratory, Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics (DIIIE), University of L’Aquila, Piazzale E. Pontieri no. 1, Loc. Monteluco di Roio, 67100, L’aquila, Italy

    Stefano Sfarra & Domenica Paoletti

  2. Tomsk Polytechnic University, Lenin Av., 30, Tomsk, 634050, Russia

    Stefano Sfarra

  3. NDT Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Polytechniou no. 9, Zografou Campus, 15780, Athens, Greece

    Eleni Cheilakou, Panagiotis Theodorakeas & Maria Koui

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  1. Stefano Sfarra
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  2. Eleni Cheilakou
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  3. Panagiotis Theodorakeas
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  4. Domenica Paoletti
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  5. Maria Koui
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Correspondence to Panagiotis Theodorakeas.

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Sfarra, S., Cheilakou, E., Theodorakeas, P. et al. S.S. Annunziata Church (L’Aquila, Italy) unveiled by non- and micro-destructive testing techniques. Appl. Phys. A 123, 215 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-0844-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-0844-2

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