Old and innovative materials towards a “compatible conservation”

Cultural heritage encloses and hands down people’s history to future generations. Old buildings teach us about history that happened, so preservation and restoration play a crucial cultural role for transmitting heritage value. Conservation actions are essential to allow their usability for present and future generations. In this way, paper aims at analysing materials and solutions that ensure suitable and longlasting conservation actions. Choice of restorative and conservative actions is founded on a series of principles developed from the late 19th century up to the latter half of 20th Century (such as minimal intervention, distinguishability, reversibility and compatibility). Particularly, for a wider sustainability and for not compromising subject authenticity (in material, structural and figurative terms), intervention must be designed without introducing elements that are not compatible with original building. Nowadays, there are various methodological approaches for heritage conservation. It is therefore essential to understand material compatibility for implementing proper intervention. Thus, it compares strategies for testing, monitoring and simulating these innovative technological systems, to warrant a good conservation of historic buildings when old materials are close to new materials. In order to illustrate alternative methods of thinking conservation project, study examined use of new technologies available, as example infrared survey, monitoring systems and simulation software and their potentiality in project decision process. In fact, study of permeability, density, thermal conductivity, capillary absorption and drying shrinkage are essential when two different surface are in contact. Paper concludes with essential factors of material compatibility for a good conservation of historical buildings.