The Contribution of Microchemical Analyses and Diagnostic Imaging to the Conservation and Identification of the Degraded Surfaces of Hellenistic-Roman Wall Paintings from Solunto (Sicily)

The Archaeological Museum of Palermo (Sicily) has recently presented the results of the restoration of three wall paintings from the House of the Masks of Solunto archaeological site. These significant paintings, dating back to the first century BCE, are the most significant examples of Pompeian style discovered in Sicily to date. The cycle of frescoes unearthed is the best preserved and most complete example of wall painting dating to the Republican Roman period in Sicily. This house was a luxurious private residence built on two floors and centred around a peristyle. This fresco cycle embellished the walls of a banquet room (oecus) discovered during an archaeological excavation carried ou…