Search results for " SICILY"
showing 10 items of 1386 documents
Multi-analytical study of the medieval wall paintings from the rupestrian church Grotta del Crocifisso at Lentini (eastern Sicily): new evidence of t…
2022
AbstractThis study presents the results of the examination and characterisation of the wall paintings that decorate the rupestrian church named Grotta del Crocifisso, which is located in the territory of Lentini (eastern Sicily, few tens of kilometres from Catania and Syracuse). The earliest mural paintings in the church date back to the twelfth century AD. A multi-analytical approach was adopted for the characterisation of stone materials, secondary degradation products, and pigments. For this purpose, the following techniques were used: reflected light microscopy (RLM), polarised light microscopy on thin sections (PLM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP),…
Analytical studies of the Sirocco room of Villa Naselli-Ambleri: A XVI century passive cooling structure in Palermo (Sicily)
2015
Abstract This work focuses on a passive cooling architecture particularly popular from the Renaissance in Palermo area, as building sumptuous suburban villas became a real hobby for the Sicilian aristocracy. A Sirocco room is an artificial subterranean construction, built close to a water spring in order to reproduce the pleasant conditions of freshness that could be experienced in a natural cavern. In these places, nobles used to spend their time with friends to escape from the hot summer. The room of Villa Naselli-Ambleri is nowadays the best preserved in Palermo thanks to its owners’ conservation care and it is unique for its cooling operating principle. The above-mentioned consideration…
Different methods for soluble salt removal tested on late-Roman cooking ware from a submarine excavation at the island of Pantelleria (Sicily, Italy)
2014
Abstract This paper deals with the comparative evaluation of different procedures of salt extraction designed for archaeological ceramics from submarine burial environments. The experimental work was carried out on a particular type of late-Roman cooking ware finds (Pantellerian ware) found in a shipwreck near the shoreline of the Island of Pantelleria (Sicily). The studied ceramic test-pieces were first recognised in terms of bulk characteristics (mineralogy, petrography and chemistry). SEM-EDS observation allowed verification of the presence of various secondary minerals at the surface and in the pore spaces formed after the prolonged permanence in seawater under oxidising or reducing con…
Sources of geomaterials in the Sicani Mountains during the Early Middle Ages: A case study of Contrada Castro, central western Sicily
2022
From 2017, an unknown rural settlement in Contrada Castro at Corleone (Palermo Province, western Sicily) was investigated as part of the `Harvesting Memories Project¿. The stratigraphic sequence, supported by radiocarbon dating, has demonstrated a reoccupation of a pre-Roman site during the transition between the Byzantine and Islamic periods. In particular, the main occupation occurred in the late 8th¿9th century when pottery kilns and a probable warehouse were constructed. During the 10th¿11th century, a new structure with different orientations replaced the previous buildings that had already collapsed. Specifically focusing on a perspective of the household production and its relationsh…
UNO SGUARDO ALLE FONTI SULL’ARCHITETTURA CIVILE TRA QUATTROCENTO E CINQUECENTO IN SICILIA: I CONTRATTI PER ANALOGIA
2021
This study examines the copious contractual documentation related to the construction of civil architecture in Sicily between the 15th and 16th centuries. Taking also into account the legal value of the acts, a series of observations emerge providing a more precise portrait of the masters involved, the architectural design and social behavior of the contractors. A framework of conventions and procedures comes out that combines local characters and long-lasting Mediterranean traditions.
THE SICILIAN DEFENSIVE SYSTEM: THE COASTAL TOWERS. THEORY AND TECHNIC MEET IN UNIQUE LANDMARKS
2016
Sicily has historically experienced a massive colonial occupation due to its strategic position among the Mediterranean Sea. Still today, its tactical importance is under everybody’s eyes with at least 15 NATO’s headquarters. Thus, it’s easily understandable how defending such a large territory was particularly important which, in turn, meant guarding and protecting more than 1600 km of coasts, leading to a possible supremacy on the trading routes through the Mediterranean area. This work will analyse the Sicilian coastal towers, a real typology that exploited traditional construction technologies and local materials integrated by instances of military engineering, in a continuous relations…
Architettura e Paesaggi Dell’UNESCO in Sicilia
2022
Se ognuno dei siti UNESCO riconosciuti oggi in Sicilia rappresenta il segno visibile di un preciso carattere o di un determinato paesaggio, considerati tutti insieme, i sette siti possono immaginarsi come traccie delle moltissime e più ampie stratificazioni sopravvenute nel tempo, di cui possiamo distinguerne i segni e le specificità ben oltre le perimetrazioni del patrimonio. Questo mosaico può ampliarsi a comprendere molte altre Sicilie, divenendo nuova metafora dell’isola molteplice. L’architettura e il patrimonio, allora, riconosciuti nella loro complessità, nei segni e negli effetti che producono sul territorio, possono divenire strumenti per la comprensione di una realtà più ampia, di…
Il tracomatosario di Bivona. Un’architettura per la cura dei bambini nel paesaggio siciliano
2021
Il Tracomatosario di Bivona (costruito intorno al 1950) è stata la più grande struttura sanitaria della Sicilia per la cura del tracoma: una grandiosa architettura bianca immersa nel verde che ancora oggi costituisce una “presenza” notevole nella città e che lo fu (fino a quando ebbe vita) anche per la comunità che ne godette i benefici economici e sociali. Rappresenta un’architettura “imprevista” che ha portato nelle zone più interne dell’Isola un linguaggio architettonico ed una cultura dell’abitare di qualità e di livello europeo. The trachoma hospital in Bivona (built around 1950) was the largest health facility in Sicily for the treatment of trachoma: a grandiose white architecture sur…
La Casa a peristilio 1 di Monte Iato: considerazioni per una nuova ipotesi ricostruttiva
2017
La Casa a Peristilio 1 di Monte Iato è una delle più lussuose e meglio pubblicate abitazioni ellenistiche dell’intera Sicilia. Il problema più dibattuto che la concerne riguarda la sua cronologia. Diversi studiosi, concentrando la loro attenzione su differenti aspetti (membrature architettoniche, cronologia dei rinvenimenti ceramici o considerazioni di ordine storico), hanno discusso la datazione della casa agli anni attorno al 300 a.C., suggerendo una cronologia più tarda. Dal momento che le opposte teorie sono basate sugli stessi elementi, piuttosto che aggiungere altre considerazioni per “risolvere” questo problema, cercherò di prendere in considerazione l’articolazione dell’abitazione s…
Inner areas’ cultural, architectural and landscape heritage: study, enhancement and fruition. Potential driver for sustainable territorial developmen…
2022
The processes of gradual abandonment of inner areas, that have been triggered since the second half of the 20th century, generated problems that have been the subject of a wide-ranging scientific and multidisciplinary debate aimed at developing focused political and planning strategies. In 2013 at national level the SNAI, Italian National Strategy for Inner Areas, and later specific actions activated by the Territorial Cohesion Agency, was founded to aim the reactivation of areas defined as “remote with the intention of mitigating territorial marginalization. This article introduces an international and interdisciplinary Seminar based to discuss some concrete experiences. The debate was att…