Through innovative chemical and magnetic investigations, it has been demonstrated that the rooms and works of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice are not contaminated by fine metallic dust of anthropic origin
A team of experts fromNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV),National Academy of the Linceiand Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and University of Siena (UniSI) rated theimpact of polluting metallic atmospheric particulates outside and inside the extraordinary collection of modern and contemporary art exhibited at Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, along the Grand Canal, in Venice.
Since the cultural heritage is strongly undermined by the so-called "fine dust", PM, which creates dark layers, abrasion and deterioration, resulting in artistic loss, the researchers applied sophisticated multidisciplinary environmental techniques to evaluate the state of the Collection preserved in the Serenissima.
The study, entitled , has just been published in the journal 'Environmental Advances' and, through chemical and magnetic analyzes carried out on lichen transplants exposed for three months as PM bioaccumulators, has demonstrated a moderate environmental footprint only on transplants placed outside the Collection. In the internal rooms, where lichens were positioned - as biological sensors - above the works of Picasso, Marcoussis e Boccioni, no significant accumulation of potentially toxic chemical elements was found (PTE).
“The study is part of a research project with the evocative title, inspired by the ecosystem services provided by trees, CHIOMA (Cultural Heritage Investigations and Observations: a Multidisciplinary Approach)”, declares Aldo Winkler, Head of the INGV Paleomagnetism Laboratory and co-author of the study. “This project introduces magnetic methodologies applied to leaves and lichens, providing original results for the purposes of control, prevention and mitigation of the effects of air pollution on cultural heritage, with a definition difficult to find with other methods in terms of sensitivity and resolution space".
“Lichens are well-known and extraordinarily efficient bioindicators, both in internal and external environments: the possibility of using them as transplants allows you to compare the chemical and physical properties before their exposure with those resulting from positioning in the place whose profile you want to outline. accumulation and type of polluting particulate matter", points out Stefano Loppi, professor of the Department of Life Sciences of UniSI, who oversaw the lichen exposure and chemical investigations, together with Lisa Grifoni, PhD student at UniSI and INGV, both co-authors of the article.
“This project aims to promote collaboration between research bodies and institutions in the cultural heritage sector”, he specifies Luciano Pensabene Buemi, curator of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and co-author of the research. “By using biological methods, without any negative impact on the aesthetics and ordinary maintenance of the Collection, it was in fact possible to evaluate the quality of the air, which was also excellent, to protect visitors and the works on display”.
“The project continues the studies originally undertaken at Villa Farnesina, representative seat of the Accademia Nazionale di Lincei, expanding the multidisciplinary use of non-invasive chemical and geophysical techniques to determine the anthropic urban impact on cultural heritage and experimenting, for the first time, these methods in an aquatic environment, where the polluting sources are different from the usual car traffic", he adds Antonio Sgamellotti, Member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and co-author of the study.
The applications of these multidisciplinary methodologies will continue in further urban contexts characterized by important anthropic impact: in fact, studies on thePalatine area of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, in some Museums of Buenos Aires, To Brunelleschi's dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York, with the further aim of investigating the ecosystem services provided by urban greenery for the mitigation of the harmful effects of air pollution on cultural heritage.
A team of experts fromNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV),National Academy of the Linceiand Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and University of Siena (UniSI) rated theimpact of polluting metallic atmospheric particulates outside and inside the extraordinary collection of modern and contemporary art exhibited at Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, along the Grand Canal, in Venice.
Since the cultural heritage is strongly undermined by the so-called "fine dust", PM, which creates dark layers, abrasion and deterioration, resulting in artistic loss, the researchers applied sophisticated multidisciplinary environmental techniques to evaluate the state of the Collection preserved in the Serenissima.
The study, entitled , has just been published in the journal 'Environmental Advances' and, through chemical and magnetic analyzes carried out on lichen transplants exposed for three months as PM bioaccumulators, has demonstrated a moderate environmental footprint only on transplants placed outside the Collection. In the internal rooms, where lichens were positioned - as biological sensors - above the works of Picasso, Marcoussis e Boccioni, no significant accumulation of potentially toxic chemical elements was found (PTE).
“The study is part of a research project with the evocative title, inspired by the ecosystem services provided by trees, CHIOMA (Cultural Heritage Investigations and Observations: a Multidisciplinary Approach)”, declares Aldo Winkler, Head of the INGV Paleomagnetism Laboratory and co-author of the study. “This project introduces magnetic methodologies applied to leaves and lichens, providing original results for the purposes of control, prevention and mitigation of the effects of air pollution on cultural heritage, with a definition difficult to find with other methods in terms of sensitivity and resolution space".
“Lichens are well-known and extraordinarily efficient bioindicators, both in internal and external environments: the possibility of using them as transplants allows you to compare the chemical and physical properties before their exposure with those resulting from positioning in the place whose profile you want to outline. accumulation and type of polluting particulate matter", points out Stefano Loppi, professor of the Department of Life Sciences of UniSI, who oversaw the lichen exposure and chemical investigations, together with Lisa Grifoni, PhD student at UniSI and INGV, both co-authors of the article.
“This project aims to promote collaboration between research bodies and institutions in the cultural heritage sector”, he specifies Luciano Pensabene Buemi, curator of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and co-author of the research. “By using biological methods, without any negative impact on the aesthetics and ordinary maintenance of the Collection, it was in fact possible to evaluate the quality of the air, which was also excellent, to protect visitors and the works on display”.
“The project continues the studies originally undertaken at Villa Farnesina, representative seat of the Accademia Nazionale di Lincei, expanding the multidisciplinary use of non-invasive chemical and geophysical techniques to determine the anthropic urban impact on cultural heritage and experimenting, for the first time, these methods in an aquatic environment, where the polluting sources are different from the usual car traffic", he adds Antonio Sgamellotti, Member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and co-author of the study.
The applications of these multidisciplinary methodologies will continue in further urban contexts characterized by important anthropic impact: in fact, studies on thePalatine area of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, in some Museums of Buenos Aires, To Brunelleschi's dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York, with the further aim of investigating the ecosystem services provided by urban greenery for the mitigation of the harmful effects of air pollution on cultural heritage.
Photo 1: Lichen transplant displayed above the work “The Studio” by Pablo Picasso
Photo 2: View from the terrace of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, where the pittosporums were sampled to evaluate their ecosystem protection action