The Herculaneum papyri represent an exceptional cultural treasure, providing invaluable insights into the philosophical, literary and historical landscape of the Greco-Roman world. However, their carbonization due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD poses significant challenges for both textual legibility and structural analysis. This study illustrates the first application of Pulsed Thermography to the non-destructive analysis of these unique manuscripts. By employing an experimental setup comprising a couple of flashes providing the excitation and a thermal camera for recording the infrared emission from the sample, the technique proves to be an important tool for textual recovery, revealing writing almost not discernible to the naked eye. Furthermore, Pulsed Thermography provides structural information useful for restorers, such as the papyrus texture and adhesion points to paperboard, offering a valuable advantage over other imaging techniques. The results show the potential of the adopted method not only as a powerful tool for textual recovery but also for guiding conservation strategies ensuring a deeper understanding of Herculaneum papyri.

This study aims to provide a contribution to advance knowledge on the evaluation of visitors' behavior in a museum context based on the approach developed within the AR-TEMISIA project, which has been carried out at the Museum of Rome in Palazzo Braschi (Rome, Italy). The approach involved the study of visitors' trajectories through sensors, equipped with artificial intelligence internal functions, for checking visitors' position and sight orientation in combination with user experience analysis and assessment of visit impact on emotional wellbeing and sense of connection with art. This approach allowed to identify different visitors' experiential profiles and provided evidence of a positive association between improvement in their emotional wellbeing and visit time length. Overall, the findings lead to the definition of different approaches to museum fruition, with possible relevant implications in terms of the conception of museum exhibition and cultural marketing.

The ARTEMISIA project aims at studying visitors' behaviour, both through a qualitative and a quantitative approach, the latter consisting in analysing new sensor data through AI algorithms. Emerging results may be useful in terms of evaluating and contrasting site overcrowding and improving museum paths. In addition, they can be used to better understand the emotional dynamics that underlie different kinds of visitor behaviour.

Analysing visitors’ behaviour in a museum or in a cultural site is a crucial element to manage spaces, artworks arrangement and to improve the visit experience. This paper presents the preliminary results of the ARTEMISIA project, exploiting Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to study, design and develop a methodology to interpret visitors’ behaviour within a museum context, namely the Museum of Rome in Palazzo Braschi (Rome, Italy). The aim is to combine literature on users’ experience (UX) analysis with experimental data coming from the visitor anonymous tracking from motion sensors (users’ stand-still positions, viewpoint direction, movements), merging the approaches of different research domains. Through the use of agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithms, four categories of visitors were identified, then associated to user profiles emerged by UX evaluations. Such analysis may lead to new forms of visitors profiling and to the development of a new generation of customised applications in public and private contexts. Identifying and predicting users’ patterns with respect to room arrangement may also be useful to suggest improvement in the museum spaces and exhibitions (new indications, updated storytelling or changes in thematic configuration).© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The multispectral study and the digitalisation of large-scaled artworks is often a critical procedure due to the movement of the instrumentation, which need scaffolds, long timing and long data acquisition time, especially when artworks are also placed at large heights, such as painting hung on walls. This is the case of a series of paintings located at the Chigi Palace in Ariccia (Rome, Italy), studied with two prototypal laser scanner systems developed by ENEA. By the use of laser sources in the visible/infrared ranges and the double-amplitude modulation technique, the scanners detect the reflected signals from the investigated object working remotely for the colour-accurate digitalisation and the detection of subsurface features. The Red Green Blue-Imaging Topological Radar (RGB-ITR) system was employed on a large canvas depicting angels with symbols of the Passion of Christ for the remote 3D digitalisation in the visible range, while the Infrared Imaging Topological Radar (IR-ITR) system was endorsed on two paintings belonging to the Four Seasons series for the infrared analysis aimed at the identification of hidden elements and the recovery of features not clearly visible. The obtained results provided precious information on the conservative state and the artistic techniques of large-scale artworks, not studied before by advanced technologies.

The purpose of this paper is to identify an efficient, sustainable, and “green” approach to address the challenges of the preservation of hypogeum heritage, focusing on the problem of moisture, a recurring cause of degradation in porous materials, especially in catacombs. Conventional and novel technologies have been used to address this issue with a completely non-destructive approach. The article provides a multidisciplinary investigation making use of advanced technologies and analysis to quantify the extent and distribution of water infiltration in masonry before damage starts to be visible or irreversibly causes damage. Four different technologies, namely Portable Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Audio Frequency–Acoustic Imaging (AF–AI), Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF), Infrared Thermography (IRT), and 3D Laser Scanning (RGB-ITR), were applied in the Priscilla catacombs in Rome (Italy). These imaging techniques allow the characterisation of the deterioration of painted surfaces within the delicate environment of the Greek chapel in the Priscilla catacombs. The resulting high-detailed 3D coloured model allowed for easily referencing the data collected by the other techniques aimed also at the study of the potential presence of salt efflorescence and/or microorganisms. The results supply an efficient and sustainable tool aimed at cultural heritage conservation but also at the creation of digital documentation obtained with green methodologies for a wider sharing, ensuring its preservation for future generations.

The Chigi Palace in Ariccia is one of the most outstanding and well-preserved testimonies of the Italian Baroque both for its architecture designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and for the unique masterpieces preserved inside. This paper presents the historical and artistic overview of the artworks investigated within the scientific regional project ADAMO which had the aim of characterise, document and monitor several kind of objects. Among the artworks here presented, there are paintings on canvas, marble busts, handwritten letters, the unique leather wall covering, wall frescoes and the only drawing on wall signed by Bernini itself.

In this work, Mid-Wave Infrared imaging techniques are applied to the investigation of the Gian Lorenzo Bernini's masterpiece "Saint Joseph and the Child" preserved at the Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia (Rome, Italy). In order to study this artwork, consisting in a drawing on wall, an integrated approach based on the use of Pulsed Thermography and Mid-Wave Infrared Reflectography is proposed. The combined use of these techniques enables the non-destructive characterization of sub-surface and structural features, such as inhomogeneities and restored areas on the plaster, and also of the materials used to obtain the drawing, thus revealing information on the preservation status of the artwork.

In the contemporary world, human and natural calamities are challenging our capabilities to preserve heritage and develop innovative safeguard strategies that also address the requirement of sustainability for restoration purposes, still considering the connection between tradition and innovation. This work introduces non-invasive diagnostic practices that offer a new insight of the built environment by studying two different elements of the same architecture of San Bevignate Templar church: a thermographic mapping obtained with special post-processing procedures provided interesting information about the hidden wall pattern, while a prototypal laser scanner, called RGB-ITR, and a UAV survey supplied new insights on the precious paintings. The assessment of the masonry quality constitutes an a priori condition for a reliable estimation of its seismic vulnerability and for the planning of effective yet conservative interventions. The access keys to 'sustainability' therefore consist in the improvement of these contactless investigations, which can be performed both in passive conditions, in the case of thermography surveys, and in active ones, such as for the RGB-ITR scanner, as necessary substitutes for destructive or partial-destructive tests. The research achieved promising results for the characterisation of the architectural structure and the paintings, with the aim of a long-term monitoring of the structure and the decorative apparatus of a monumental heritage located in an area vulnerable to seismic and environmental events.

This paper presents the preliminary results of an ongoing multidisciplinary study carried out in the Etr-uscan tomb called Querciola with a twofold aim: on one hand, the comprehension of the storytelling of its unique paintings, on the other, the collection and analyses of documentation for monitoring the state of preservation of the tomb and the paintings over the years. The investigations were carried out by studying historical and archival sources, ancient hand drawings and acquiring 3D-coloured models obtained by using a high-definition 3D laser scanner prototype. The ancient drawings were made with different techniques (pencil, tempera , watercolours) by several artists from 1831 to 1935 as a means of documentation, also by drawing on paper on a scale of 1:1. However, the reliability of graphic and colour transpositions is not entirely certain, raising art-historical doubts about the original appearance of the paintings and the presence of personal contributions of individual artists in each drawing. For this rea-son, the 3D model acquired by the laser scanner constitutes a very useful tool for scientific and reliable documentation, which can be also considered as a starting point for long-term monitoring. The acquired 3D models provided the accurate digitalisation of the entire tomb, collecting both colorimetric and struc-tural information, without the influence of the environmental illuminating conditions, for conservative, scientific and educational purposes. The post-processing of the images permitted the analysis of the state of health of the site and of its paintings, as well as improving the readability of some elements of the pictorial cycle of the tomb that are now barely visible. The preliminary results of this study demonstrated the importance of using multidisciplinary resources and the cooperation between scholars coming from different fields, for the comprehension and the recovery of partially lost paintings, improving the possi-bility to better understand iconography of the Etruscan art. (c) 2023 Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

In library heritage, the practice of reusing fragments of older manuscripts was very common, providing complex structures characterised by several overlapped features. Pulsed Thermography enables non-destructive investigations of such a stratigraphic structure and the detection of hidden texts. In this work, a study of the contrast generation in their thermographic detection is presented, aimed to the evaluation of the edges distortion for enhancing the readability of such features which is crucial for palaeographic purposes.

Among the different forms of art, the puppet theatre constitutes a long-standing and often little-known tradition. The use of puppets as support for acting dates back to the Greek age, and it was mainly developed during the modern period. The reason for such a large diffusion was due to the possibility of using affordable materials, such as papier-mâché, for the puppets’ manufacture. In this paper, a method based on the combined use of pulsed thermography (PT) and mid-wave infrared reflectography (MIR) is, for the first time, proposed for the characterization of papier-mâché artworks. In particular, some puppets belonging to the collection of the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome and made by Olga Lampe Minelli, a 20th-century puppet master, were investigated in order to detect damaged areas, such as those affected by insect attacks, and, consequently, to specifically plan suitable restoration works. Finally, the investigations were also carried out after the restoration to evaluate the effectiveness of the adopted treatments.

On the occasion of the 700th centenary of the death of Dante Alighieri, medium wave infrared imaging analysis of illuminations of the XIV-century code of the Divina Commedia (MS. 1102), hosted in the Biblioteca Angelica in Rome, was performed and discussed. The investigation was carried out by means of thermographic and reflectographic techniques on illuminations where the iconographic representation appeared severely damaged. In particular, through the combined use of both techniques, it was possible to recover the images of the damaged parts of the pictorial layer of the illuminations and of their underdrawings, displaying details of the "lost guardians", which was useful to reconstruct the conservative history of the precious manuscript.

In the restoration of painted artworks, the colour characterisation is a fundamental analysis to address the choice of suitable materials for the recovery and the consolidation of the painting layers. In this paper, we present a diagnostic study on a unique Japanese painted paper handscroll (emakimono), dated back between the late Edo (1603-1867) and the early Meiji (18681912) periods, preserved at the Museum of the Civilisation-Prehistoric Ethnographic Museum "Luigi Pigorini" in Rome (Italy). The artwork required an urgent restoration and the consolidation of the entire structure. In order to define specific interventions, non-destructive measurements by means of Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) X-Rays Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) were carried out on the artefact. The results allowed the identification of the colour palette used for tests on the chromaticity and the efficacy of the proper consolidants to employ in the restoration.

This paper presents the results of a multidisciplinary study carried out for the characterisation of the colours of a famous Etruscan site: the Blue Daemons tomb. Here, 3D digitalisation and analytical investigations were necessary for conservative and educational purposes, in order to characterize the materials of the Etruscan art, preserve the memory of the archaeological remain and be able to transmit it to future generations. The 3D model of the tomb has been achieved with the multi-wavelengths laser scanner prototype developed by ENEA, allowing a truthful colour and structural digitalisation of the tomb without the influence of the bad illuminating conditions. Such a technique introduced a doubt about the validity of the tomb name: the daemons are really blue? Colorimetric measurements achieved with both the laser scanner prototype and a portable spectrophotometer have revealed greyish hue of the demoniac figures, requiring further and focused analyses on the colour palette of the painting in order to understand their composition and the state of conservation. For these purposes, Raman, XRF and LIF spectroscopies have been performed on the wall where the blue demons are represented. The results have detected the use of the pigment Egyptian blue for the daemons' skin and ochres for yellow and red details, confirming the legitimacy of the tomb name, although the presence of synthetic consolidants applied in previous restorations have altered colorimetric measurements. (C) 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

This paper presents a study carried out on the painted altarpiece preserved inside the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome, by combining three imaging techniques operating in the near- and mid-infrared spectral ranges. The altarpiece has several pictorial layers and restorations, which have superimposed over time for stylistic adjustment and conservative purposes up to its present appearance. The results obtained in this study enable the detection of damage to the wooden support and the identification of pictorial features buried beneath the visible paint layer, thus providing significant information on the historical and artistic characterization of the artefact.

In this work, two different mid-infrared imaging techniques operating in the 3-5 µm spectral range are applied to the study of three paintings on canvas, dating back to the XVII century, preserved at the Chigi Palace in Ariccia (Italy). A combined approach based on the use of pulsed thermography and mid-infrared reflectography is proposed for the analysis of the ‘Primavera’ by Filippo Lauri and Mario Nuzzi, the ‘Ritratto di Mario Nuzzi che dipinge un vaso di fiori’ by Giovanni Maria Morandi and Mario Nuzzi and the ‘Ebbrezza di Noè’ by Andrea Sacchi. The aim is to show how the integrated use of these techniques enables a depth-resolved investigation of the entire layered structure of the paintings, from the surface up to the canvas support. The complementarity of the presented results allows an evaluation of the conservative status of the support and the detection of graphical and pictorial features hidden beneath the surface layer, such as pentimenti, as these features are important for the historical and artistic characterisation of the artefact.

Pulsed thermography has proven to be a useful tool to detect subsurface features in ancient bookbindings and, in particular, to provide the IR image of texts buried beneath the end-leaves of the books. In this paper the theory is presented to analyze the influence of the geometrical and physical parameters involved in the processes leading to the distortion in the IR image of the detected buried graphical features. The distortion is mainly due to the lateral diffusion of the heat generated at the ink feature after the absorption of an excitation light. A comprehensive analysis taking into account the three dimensional heat diffusion process, in an optically semi-transparent medium, is considered. Numerical results are reported showing the behavior of the contrast and of a distortion parameter of the buried inked feature detected by the IR imaging in the various considered cases.

In the analysis of complex stratigraphical structures like painted artefact, infrared (IR) techniques can provide precious information about elements hidden under superficial layers of the artwork, such as pictorial features and structural defects. This paper presents a novel complementary use of reflectographic and thermographic techniques for the survey of three baroque paintings, preserved at the Chigi Palace in Ariccia (Italy). First, the IR-ITR laser scanner prototype has been used for the preliminary and remote near-IR reflectographic survey of the areas where the canvas was located. The resulting map was then used for planning the thermographic and mid-IR reflectographic studies, focusing the analyses on the most interesting areas of one of the paintings, called "La Primavera". The combination of the three imaging techniques revealed several details not visible by the naked eye, such as restored lacunas and pentimenti, demonstrating the validity and complementarity of the proposed combined methodologies.