Search results for " limestone"
showing 10 items of 30 documents
Facies Architecture and Evolution of a Cretaceous, Tectonically-Controlled, Carbonate Slope from Western Sicily (Italy)
2018
The stratigraphic architecture of a Cretaceous carbonate slope from north western Sicily (Italy) has been reconstructed on the basis of detailed field sections. The wire cut walls of a number of quarries that extract the Cretaceous limestones as ornamental stones allowed the mapping of the stratal architecture and lithologies at various scales. The vertical and lateral facies relationships in this about 1000 m thick depositional system account for a complex sedimentary dynamics along a carbonate platform escarpment that was strongly influenced by syn-sedimentary transtensional tectonics associated to magmatism. Although the original relationships with the carbonate platform were obscured by…
La scoperta, sistemazione e conservazione della grande Iscrizione di Gortina, nell'isola di Creta (1884-1921): la protezione delle testimonianze e le…
2013
La scoperta e la conservazione della Grande Iscrizione di Gortina a Creta, da parte degli studiosi italiani, fra la fine del XIX sec. e i primi decenni del XX sec., rappresentò un grande riconoscimento scientifico-culturale per la giovane nazione italiana. Nel passato, l’isola di Creta era stata legata alla Repubblica di Venezia e anche questo rapporto favorì l’invio a Creta del giovane epigrafista F. Halbherr, il quale fra notevoli peripezie rinvenne, assieme all’epigrafista tedesco E. Fabricius, la famosa l’iscrizione nell’antica città di Gortina. L’iscrizione, fra le più antiche e complete finora conosciute in tutta Europa, conteneva le norme sulla famiglia, l’eredità e in generale i dir…
Fruit Trees and Bushes as a Biodiversity Element in the “Górażdże” Quarry Reclaimed Areas
2019
The assumption of biological land reclamation in the forest direction is to introduce trees and shrubs on the reclaimed area so as to bring it as close as possible to the natural state based on the species characteristic for forest communities. While assessing the concept of biodiversity resulting from the naturalistic approach to the forest as a timeless good, it is necessary to take into account the diversity of plantings used and their multifunctionality. One of the functions is to designate crops for utility purposes, by creating a natural undergrowth, birdhouses, forest fringe plantings and enclaves of edible fruit plants. As part of the research, implementing the biodiversity of midfo…
Not only flint: Levallois on quartzite and limestone at Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Spain): Implications for neandertal Behavior
2016
This paper investigates the application of the Levallois technique to the knapping of nonflint raw materials (limestone and quartzite) in the upper levels of the Abrigo de la Quebrada rockshelter (Chelva, Valencia, Spain). Besides highlighting the significant flexibility that characterized Neandertal behavior, such an application is of singular interest because goodquality flint—lacking fissures and impurities and presenting a compact and homogeneous texture—is abundant in the site’s immediate vicinity. In other assemblages, the scarcity or poor quality of flint often suffices to explain the recourse to alternatives, but in these Quebrada levels raw material choice must be primarily determi…
Petrography and decay of a marly limestone in the cloister of a medieval cathedral in Sicily
2004
This paper deals with a significant process of decohesion of a marly limestone, taking place in the cloister of the medieval Cathedral of Cefalu, a pleasant town on the northern coast of Sicily. After desalination with deionised water and consolidation with ethyl silicate, the decay of the stone became faster. The aim of our study is to characterise the stony material and investigate the observed decay phenomena. The stone, that is a poor building material indeed, is characterised by means of petrographical, chemical and physical analyses on samples taken from the monument. Furthermore, experimental tests are performed in the laboratory in order to highlight the causes of incompatibility be…
Marbles of Sicily (Italy)
2008
“A Miracle of Architecture”: The Billiemi limestone Columns of the Church of San Giuseppe dei Teatini in Palermo and Domenico Fontana’s Method for Li…
2014
La chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Teatini di Palermo (costruita a partire dal 1619), è un’architettura singolare nel panorama internazionale del Sei-Settecento. La realizzazione di una spregiudicata conformazione basilicale con copertura a volte, impostata su una sequenza di colonne monolitiche giganti nelle navate e nella crociera con cupola con sostegni alti fino a 10m, è il risultato della convergenza di più fattori. Il conseguimento di questo traguardo si deve alla scoperta nel territorio di Palermo, alla fine del XVI secolo, di un calcare compatto (il “Billiemi”) dalle qualità estetiche e strutturali assimilabili al marmo e in grado di generare poderosi monoliti. Questa opportunità innescò…
Multitechnique diagnostic analysis and 3D surveying prior to the restoration of St. Michael defeating Evil painting by Mattia Preti
2021
In this study, a multimethodological analysis involving optical and physical/chemical diagnostic techniques and 3D photogrammetric survey was successfully applied, for the first time, on the large oil on canvas St. Michael defeating Evil painting by Mattia Preti, located inside the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Sarria (Floriana) in Malta. Pigmenting agents, binder media, and raw materials were first characterized, both at elemental and molecular scales, through X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), optical stereo microscopy (SM), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and gas chroma…
A SOLUTION FOR QUARRY LIMESTONE DUST RECYCLING
2019
Quarry dust is a product of the extracting process. In quarrying activities, the rock is extracted and transformed into various sizes: as a waste, a fine aggregate generally useless to be disposed of and able to produce environmental pollution is produced. The disposal of this type of waste is a further cost of the extracting process, further it is a risk especially for subsoil reserves of wa-ter that can be easily reached during rainfalls and for the sea when quarries are close to the coast. The productive use of quarry dust with the double aim of disposal and protection of the environment seems a right strategy. The Italian-Maltese extracting industry covers a great segment in the world w…
The mosaic of the Frigidarium of “Villa Bonanno” in Palermo: mineralogical and petrographic analyses for in situ conservation and restoration interve…
2017
The topic of this study was the mineralogical and petrographic characterization of bedding mortars (made of different layers) and tesserae of Roman age (3rd Century A.D.), taken from the mosaic of the Frigidarium of “Villa Bonanno”, brought to light by archaeological excavations conducted in the historical centre of Palermo. The collected samples have been analysed by thin-section optical microscopy (PLM), and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS). The study was aimed to define the “recipe” (composition of temper and binder, temper size distribution, temper/binder ratio), in order to assess the provenance of raw materials (supply site/area) and t…