European Project “NANO-CATHEDRAL: Nanomaterials for conservation of European architectural heritage developed by research on characteristic lithotypes”

Europe has significant cultural and environmental diversity together with an exceptional ancient architecture and built environment. From the point of view of conservation, this architectural excellence and heritage may present degradation problems related to the variety of stone materials used for their construction. In the present project five different medieval cathedrals and a contemporary opera theatre were selected as they may be considered as representative of both different environmental conditions and types of stones (limestones, sandstones and marbles) in Western Europe. The project aims at developing new materials, technologies and procedures for the restoration and conservation of stone in ancient cathedrals and monumental buildings, with a particular emphasis on the preservation of the originality of the building materials and on the development of tailormade approach to tackle the specific problems. The original materials will be analysed and classified, evaluating their connection with historical exploitation of quarries as a source of building materials. Nanomaterials suitable for the consolidation and protection of stones will be developed aiming at providing the best technological answer for the preservation of different types of stones, according to porosity and mineralogical and chemical features. The exploitation of the project will bring about the adoption of best practices for the preservation of the cathedrals and high quality buildings by selecting the most advanced nanotechnologies.