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On June 20 work has started on the restoration of the Sacred Area located in the Archeological Area of Fiesole.
The Sacred Area includes an Etruscan temple that was rebuilt by Romans, three structures that are unidentifiable by the archeological literature, but that can be categorized as podia, and some tombs that are part of the Longobard necropolis that once spread over the entire area.
The most recent restoration work dates back to the 1960s, after the main excavation of the site was concluded.
Due to the extended period of time since the last restoration work and the manner in which the restoration itself was performed – too intrusive, considering the materials used for this purpose –, the archeological structures are now in need of a major intervention.
The poor conservation status of the structures is characterized by the following phenomena:
- coherent superficial deposits;
- biological attacks (mostly algae, moss and lichen);
- superficial vegetation, both herbaceous and shrub-like;
- stone detachment, exfoliation and disaggregation.
These phenomena were caused by the chemico-physical action of weathering and the mechanical action of weeds, and also by the damage caused by humans. They all combined to bring about the detachment and loss of matter and portions of the walls, making the architectural structures and the stratigraphic succession hard to read.
Taking into account the conservation status, the restoration interventions planned are summarily as follows:
- cleaning the archeological area from the weeds through the use of and products that are environmentally friendly and safe for the visitors;
- cohesive preconsolidation of the sandstone surfaces in pietra serena affected by decohesion and disaggregation;
- incoherent deposits removal;
- disinfestation of the stone walls, sidings and mosaic by applying biocide and mechanically removing the residues of the treatment;
- plastering of the exfoliations and the crack pattern;
- surface protection.
Axonometric projection of the Etruscan temple(Drawing from the Drawing Archives of the Superintendence ABAP Fi-Pt-Po)
Settling the treated area will be the main priority, so that an assessment on the actual condition of the structures can be carried out.
This first conservative-cognitive intervention is preparatory to the individuation of a maintenance plan that can be carried out to the Archeological Area in its entirety, so that it can be handed over to the future. The aim of this maintenance plan will also be avoiding the urgent need of a heavy, expensive and often tardive restoration work.
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