Degradation study of XVIII century graffiti on the walls of Chiaramonte Palace (Palermo, Italy)

A systematic investigation of the original materials and the degradation phenomena induced by soluble salts on the wall matrix and on the graffiti of the Inquisition jails of Chiaramonte Palace in Palermo (Italy) was carried out. Built in the XIV century, Chiaramonte Palace was used as Inquisition court during the XV–XVI centuries. The ancient graffiti, recently discovered, represent a unique historical witness of the prisoners that lived during that terrible period. In order to study the nature, the amount and the distribution of the salts in the masonry, stone materials sampled at different depth from the wall matrix and saline efflorescences were analysed. Different physical techniques w…

A degradation study of XVIII century graffiti on the walls of Chiaramonte Palace (Palermo, Italy)