Problems Connected with Protection of Monuments from Aggressive Agents

Emphasis is given to the importance of the conservation of the exterior surfaces of great architectures as palaces, castles, bridges, etc., and monuments, triumph arches, statues, sculptures and, in general, masterpieces of marmor, stone and related materials located outdoors. Protection problems in this field are important in Italy, where a great number of these treasures are often in heavily-polluted environments, and, consequently, undergo a continuous destructive action. The problem of the protection of marmor surfaces can be tackled according to various approaches. Among these the treatment with organic coatings of both the film forming and the sealer type is particularly interesting. Objective of this work is to make a contribution to the methodology of characterization of the above mentioned protective materials. So, the most suitable protective product and application procedure, in dependence on the material to be protected and the nature of the aggressive agents, can be more easily identified. In particular, the investigations are aimed at highlighting the behaviour of the protective coating towards: 1) some gases and vapours, through the determination of their solubility in the coating. 2) rain and salt water, through the determination of the weight and the isothermal desoprtion of the water penetrated into the coating and through this into the body of the object exposed to humid atmosphere or immersed in water.