TESTING OF NANOSTRUCTURED PRODUCTS FOR THE PROTECTION AND CONSOLIDATION OF STONE SURFACES: THE CASE STUDY OF THE TOWER OF PALAZZO ALLIATA IN PALERMO

This study focused on the battlements of the Tower of Palazzo Alliata Pietratagliata in Palermo, which is one of the most important examples of late medieval civil architecture in Sicily. The battlements are made by biocalcarenite and currently affected by a strong desegregation. In order to first characterize the stone some tests have been carried out on small samples collected in situ: chemical and morphological analysis through X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical polarized light microscopy (PLM), determination of total soluble salt content by measuring the conductivity and dosage of the anions and determination of the dimensional distribution of the pores. T…