THE TARANTOLA ETRUSCAN PEDIMENT: NDT AND 3D MODEL CONTENT

A.L. Ciuffreda, M. Coli 1 T. Donigaglia , P. I. Mariotti , T. Salvatici and G. Simoni 

Abstract

 The Tarantola Etruscan pediment comes from a single-chamber tomb located in the Tarquin-ia area, dating back to 520-530 B.C.; it was found in 1904, during some agricultural works, close to Villa la Tarantola, from where the name. It consists of a trapezoidal tympanum 3.5 m long and 1 m high with a painting banquet with four diners (men) recumbent on a mattress placed at ground level. Fabrizio Lucarini detached it on behalf of the Royal Archaeological Museum of Florence, now National Archaeological Museum, where it is still conserved. The Tarquinia tombs were carved into the local Quaternary calcarenite named “Macco”. The pictorial decoration was removed as solid-wall that was reinforced at the back with a layer of concrete. In the last years, the Tarantola pediment had been restored by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD). In the frame of a cooperation agreement between OPD and the Depart-ment of Earth Science (DST), it has been the subject of NDT analysis and survey for the re-construction of a 3D model content. According to the MIBACT guideline (2011), the NDT surveys consisted into georadar, sonic and thermographic investigations. The location of the NDT data in their real space in the 3D model allowed their correct interpretation for a multi-disciplinary evaluation about the structures of the pediment. The NDT survey also allowed identifying and locating minor and micro fissures and gypsum integrations below previous painting restorations. In conclusion, the 3D modelling and NDT brought positive improve-ments for the structural and conservation knowledge of the Tarantola Etruscan pediment al-lowing better well-addressed restoration works.

THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE AL CALCINAIO: FROM DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES TO ARCHITECTURAL AND STRUCTURAL REHABILITATION PROJECT.

Michelangelo Micheloni, Anna Livia Ciuffreda , Gabriela Simoni , Federico Salvini

Abstract

 This paper illustrates the results of the cognitive process for the defining structural consolidation interventions, seismic risk reduction and architectural rehabilitation of the church of “Santa Maria delle Grazie al Calcinaio”, Cortona (Arezzo, Italy). The church represents a splendid example of Renaissance architecture in which the architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini rigorously applied the architectural principles of proportion and perspective. The use of local stone (sandstone) is evident inside in the frames that decorate the facades. Today the building has several problems. The most important is the advanced state of decay of the external stone cladding. However, over time the structure has highlighted structural instability that have already required interventions in the past and that have given rise to the need for a static analysis and an evaluation of seismic vulnerability. To this end, a cognitive phase was carried out in accordance to the NTC2018 and the Guidelines for the assessment and reduction of the seismic risk of cultural heritage, which included: historical-critical analysis, digital survey, structural and material diagnostic campaign, HBIM modelling, definition of the structural model and dynamic behaviour. All these studies have made it possible to highlight all the criticalities of the building and to plan interventions aimed at reducing structural vulnerabilities and for securing the stone ashlars and strongly protruding cornices in order to minimize the risk of falling fragments and protect the safety of users.

THE STUDY OF DONATELLO’S SCULPTURE OF SAN MARCO IN ORSANMICHELE (FLORENCE), THROUGH A THREE-DIMENSIONAL DIGITAL RECONSTRUCTION IN VISIBLE AND UV LIGHT.

Michelangelo Micheloni, Anna Livia Ciuffreda, Gabriela Simoni and Mattia Faiulo

Abstract 

The sculpture of San Marco was made by Donatello for the external tabernacle of Orsanmichele (Florence), at the request of the Arte dei Rigattieri and Linaioli in the early Renaissance. Don-atello sculpted it in a block of Carrara marble between 1411 and 1413. Recently, a restoration project admired by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure involved a detailed diagnostic project that was an important help to better understand Donatello’s work. 

Surrounded by this project, our tasks were to: 

– The morphology of the surface was scanned using high-precision laserscanners and a high-resolution photogrammetry, then we made the digital 3D model, and it became the basis on which we entered the data obtained from other diagnostic imaging investigations. 

– The 3D UV survey is an innovative investigation methodology for the investigation of three-dimensional works. We carried out a photographic acquisition campaign in visible light and UV fluorescence and UV reflectance, using a very high-resolution camera. From the photo-grammetry we created the 3D model in UV fluorescence and reflectance of the sculpture. 

– Digital reconstruction and 3D printing of the missing elements of the marble cushion sup-ported the restoration activities in order to integrate the missing parts of the sculpture. Through digital integration technique we have tried to create a probable reconstruction of portions of decorations that can help the public to imagine the sculpture no longer white but with decora-tions.

GPR Survey on the Etruscan “Frontone della Tarantola”

Coli M.,  Donigaglia T., Ciuffreda A. L., Mariotti, P. I., Simoni G., Morandi D.

Abstract

The “Frontone della Tarantola” is a stone solid-panel detached in 1904 from the tympanum of the back-side of an VI century B.C. tomb in the Etruscan necropolis of Monterozzi, Tarquinia (VT, Italy necropolis, in the Tarantola farm area. Since then, it is conserved at the Archaeological National Museum at Florence (Italy. The whole necropolis was dig in local soft holocenic calcarenite called Macco. The pediment (Frontone has a trapezoidal shape of 3.5 x 1 m and 14-18 cm thick. On the front side there is a mural painting representing a banquet with four men recumbent on a mattress and a fair; below there is a continuous frieze of 13 bands of alternating colours. In order to ensure stability and strengthen the detached stone-panel, it was enclosed by a wooden framework and lined on the back first with a mortar made with the local Macco as then by a layer of concrete. Four vertical iron bars link the upper and lower wooden beams. After the detachment the Tarantola pediment was subject to some restorations, but recently it presented same cracks and was in need of a new restoration, recently done at OPD. DST and IDS GeoRadar supported OPD for a GPR surveying addressed to identify the thicknesses of the stone-panel, mortar lining and concrete layer, and the 3D network of the cracks. GPR survey consisted into 4 horizontal scan-lines, vertically spaced, running all along the entire length of the front side. Georadar data has been implemented into a 3D model content, that allowed a full 3D georefencing of the analysis for a correct interpretation. Georadar data allowed tomographic analysis that led to map in 3D the cracks and outlined in the right side of the pediment the concave shape, up to a depth of about 5 cm, of a previous gypsum integration. Georadar tomography and punctual analysis led to recognized the interface between surficial weathered Macco, intact Macco, mortar and concrete. The layers thickness resulted in the order of: weathered Macco 3 cm, intact Macco 3 cm, mortar 6 cm, concrete up to 4 cm. The results of the Georadar survey largely supported the designing of the restoration interventions on the Tarantola Etruscan pediment.