The trees along the Lungotevere and in the Gardens of Villa Farnesina accumulate automotive particles, limiting their entry into the loggias and the consequent damage to Raphael's masterpieces
The loggias of Villa Farnesina, frescoed by Raffaello Sanzio, can suffer damage due to exposure to polluting dust emitted by Rome's car traffic.
Through the use of multidisciplinary environmental techniques, a team of experts from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and the University of Siena (UniSI) monitored the impact of atmospheric dust (PM ) pollutants from vehicular traffic on the loggias frescoed by Raphael, in the innovative study Assessing the impact of vehicular particulate matter on cultural heritage by magnetic biomonitoring at Villa Farnesina in Rome, Italy just published in the journal 'Science of the Total Environment'.
At Villa Farnesina, the representative seat of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the loggias frescoed by Raphael are located over 30 m from the main neighboring road, Lungotevere Farnesina, with plants and trees present both outside and in the Gardens of the Villa. While automotive metal dusts were found in the leaves sampled from trees and plants with concentrations depending on the distance from the road, no significant accumulations of these particles were found in the lichens exposed for three months inside the loggias. The distance of the loggias from the road and the presence of trees have greatly reduced the impact of the polluting particles on the frescoed rooms: the leaves of the trees, especially the plane trees on the Lungotevere, have retained the metallic powders, mainly emitted by the vehicular brakes, thus providing a important protection service for the works of art contained in the Villa.
The study began with the sampling of the leaves of the plane trees along the Lungotevere Farnesina and, inside the Gardens, approaching the loggias, of cypresses, oleanders and myrtles, in order to also identify the most suitable species for retaining atmospheric particulate matter, capable thus to provide ecosystem services for the preventive protection of cultural heritage more efficiently.
Subsequently, to investigate the diffusion of metal powders inside the rooms, the display of lichen transplants was curated, the analysis of which made it possible to determine the trend of the magnetic and chemical parameters linked to the accumulation of dust from atmospheric pollution with the distance from the road, without incurring the variability connected to the use, for biomonitoring purposes, of different species of plants.
In particular, INGV carried out the magnetic analyzes of leaves and lichens, which were integrated with the chemical measurements carried out by the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Siena, under the logistical and organizational supervision of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.
The study will continue in further urban contexts characterized by intense vehicular traffic, in the presence of monuments and artistic assets: studies are already underway on the Palatine area of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, with the common aim of investigating the fundamental ecosystem services provided by green urban, regarding the mitigation of the harmful effects of air pollution.
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At Villa Farnesina, trees protect Raphael's frescoes from vehicular pollution
The trees along the Lungotevere and inside the Gardens of Villa Farnesina accumulate vehicular particulate matter, thus limiting their input inside the loggias and the consequent damage to Raphael's masterpieces.
The loggias of Villa Farnesina, frescoed by Raffaello Sanzio, may suffer damage due to exposure to particulate matter (PM) emitted by the vehicular traffic of Rome.
Through the use of multidisciplinary environmental techniques, a team of experts from the Lincei National Academy, the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Volcanologia (INGV) and the University of Siena (UniSI) monitored the impact of vehicular PM on the loggias frescoed by Raphael, in the innovative study 'Assessing the impact of vehicular particulate matter on cultural heritage by magnetic biomonitoring at Villa Farnesina in Rome, Italy' just published in the journal 'Science of the Total Environment'
At Villa Farnesina, the head office of the Lincei National Academy, the loggias frescoed by Raphael are located more than 30 meters away from the main neighboring busy road, Lungotevere Farnesina, with plants and trees present both outside and inside the gardens of the Villa. While metallic PM was detected in the leaves sampled on the outdoor trees and plants, with concentration levels depending on the distance from the road, no significant accumulation of such particles was found in the lichens exposed for three months inside the lodges. The distance of the loggias from the road and the presence of trees preserved the freshed halls from large inputs of metallic PM: the leaves, especially those from the trees along Lungotevere, retained the metallic PM, emitted mainly by vehicle brakes, thus providing an important protection service to the cultural heritage inside the Villa.
This study started with the sampling of Platanus trees along Lungotevere Farnesina and, inside the Gardens and approaching the loggias, of cypresses, oleanders and myrtles, in order to identify the most suitable plant species for retaining PM, thus providing the best ecosystemic services for the preventive protection of cultural heritage.
Moreover, lichen transplants were exposed for three months for investigating the indoor diffusion of metallic PM, thus evaluating the variations of their magnetic and chemical properties with the distance from the road, without incurring in the variables associated to the use of different plant species in biomonitoring studies.
The magnetic properties of lichens and leaves were measured at INGV, the chemical measurements were carried out at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Siena, under the logistical and organizational supervision of the Lincei National Academy.
These researches will continue in further busy urban contexts characterized by the presence of cultural heritage sites: studies are already underway on the Palatine area of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, under the common aim of investigating the fundamental ecosystemic services provided by urban green and forests, for the mitigation of the harmful effects of atmospheric pollution.
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Fig.1 - Lichen transplants exhibited in the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche, frescoed by Raphael, at Villa Farnesina.
Fig.1 - Lichen transplants exposed inside the Cupid and Psyche lodge in Villa Farnesina, with frescoes by Raphael.
Fig.2 - Decrease of the magnetic susceptibility values with the distance from the Lungotevere Farnesina: the frescoed Loggias, about 30 m from the road, are preserved from automobile dust.
Fig.2 - Magnetic susceptibility decrease with the distance from Lungotevere Farnesina: the frescoed lodges, at more than 30 m form the main road, were preserved by vehicular particulate matter.