Affirming Authenticity: Sustainable Conservation of Cultural Heritage

Dear Colleagues,

Cultural Heritage materials represent our history and memory. The preservation of the great variety of materials which constitutes our heritage (historic buildings, fountains, polychrome works) is still lacking a shared method and policy which can assure their conservation for the long term. It has been clear that some factors such as pollution, natural events, and mass tourism have put the conservation of artworks at risk. The Venice flood or the firing at Notre Dame Cathedral are just two examples to highlight the importance of a sustainable and organized program of conservation. It can consider two main aspects: i) scientific analysis and ii) application of policies specific for each Cultural Heritage asset. The scientific approach must be the base to build the conservation, in order to individuate the degradation factors and to develop green materials for the conservation. The diagnostic of Cultural Heritage is then essential for planning sustainable action of preservation which will assure the use of our Heritage, also considering that arts and Cultural Heritage are a source of income for many countries. Then, sustainable conservation is fundamental both for the material preservation of priceless artworks and monuments, but also for the economic welfare of the communities. This Special Issue aims to collect the scientific contributions that have as their purpose the sustainable conservation of Cultural Heritage, considering both the scientific analyses answer to the problem and the social action useful for the building the conservation policies which can assure the preservation of materials for a long time.

We have recently seen events that have put our Cultural Heritage at risk. Few examples regard the frequent flooding in Venice, mass tourism in the art cities or the fire of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

These events are often due to a lack of strategic planning for the conservation of Cultural Heritage, despite the availability of methods and materials that are capable of preventing dramatic events.

Sustainable conservation must include: scientific methods aimed at individuating risk factors, the development of green materials for protection and, as the ultimate goal, the conservation policies that assure the long-term use and protection of Cultural Heritage.

The purpose of the Special Issue is to collect contributions that highlight the importance of the scientific approach in identifying conservation problems and the consequent actions aimed at guaranteeing the protection of the cultural asset. The Special Issue considers not only the research concerning the development and application of green products on historical/polychrome surfaces, but also preventive conservation methods, valorization and long-term actions of conservation.

In this way it will be possible to build a common thought on the current needs concerning our Cultural Heritage conservation and highlight how important it is to plan political actions based on the scientific methodology and the sustainability of the proposed methods.v

Dr. Francesca Di Turo
Dr. Laura Medeghini
Guest Editors

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• Cultural Heritage Diagnostic
• Preventive Conservation
• Green Chemistry