GEOLOGY FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE STUDIES

The course will provide basic knowledge of Mineralogy and Petrography to enable the student recognizing the most common minerals and rocks. Minerals and rocks will be contextualized on the basis of the environments and formation processes and on their use in a Cultural Heritage framework. The main chemical-physical characteristics of rocks and minerals and their main forms of weathering and deterioration will be examined in relation to their use in architecture and art and to the exposure to pollution and weather. The course will introduce the main methodologies for the study, identification and chemical-physical characterization of rocks and minerals. Some of the geochemical investigation methodologies useful for tracing, dating and characterizing stone materials for Cultural Heritage will also be presented.

The student will learn to recognize the main rocks used in historical and artistic context. The student will be able to determine the main forms of weathering and deterioration related to the rocks of interest. At the end of the course, the student will gain a basic geological language that will enable him to communicate with other experts in cultural heritage. More specifically, the student will acquire a basic knowledge of the main lithogenic and geomorphological processes which will help him choosing possible actions for the conservation, safeguard and restoration of cultural heritage.

Inorganic chemistry, physics

Internal structure and dynamics of the Earth. The Earth system and its subsystems. Introduction to plate tectonics.
• Distribution and abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust.
• Classifications of minerals: silicates, oxides and hydroxides of iron and aluminium, calcium and magnesium carbonates, calcium sulphates.
• Systematic Mineralogy. Crystalline state, amorphous state, crystalline systems, habit, crystal growth, coordination polyhedra. Polymorphism and isomorphism. Macroscopic description. Physical and optical properties of minerals.
• Definition and classification of rocks. Petrogenetic processes (magmatic, sedimentary and metamorphic).
- Igneous rocks. Physical and chemical characteristics of magmas. Classification schemes for igneous rocks (Streckeisen diagrams, TAS).
- Sedimentary rocks. Depositional environments, composition and classification. Terminology in use for the classification of sedimentary rocks.
- Metamorphic rocks. Metamorphism classification. Protolith and metamorphic grade.
• The main geo-materials used in art and architecture. Main geo-resources linked to cultural heritage in Italy, historical-geographical framework of the resources.
• The main forms of deterioration and weathering of stone materials: chemical, physical and biological.
• Cement, lime, mortars, concrete, gypsum etc. Raw materials, technology, classification, characteristics and production methods.
• Protection of cultural heritage: slope stability, main forms of instability, seismicity, geological-technical cartography.
• Notes on isotopic geochemistry for the study of cultural heritage: main radiometric dating methods, isotope ratios.

Capire la terra (J.P. Grotzinger, T.H. Jordan)
Mineralogia e petrografia (C. Klein, A. R. Philpotts)
Earth materials (C. Klein)
Scientific papers and notes provided by the lecturer.

Written test with ten multiple-choice questions and two open-ended questions. The student may apply to take an oral supplementation.

The course includes both lectures and practical activities focused on rocks recognition, crystal optical properties, geological cartography, physical properties of rocks and minerals.

Italian

written