L’involucro in marmo della casa delle armi di Luigi Moretti. Una sfida tecnica ancora in corso

The “Casa delle Armi” by Architect Luigi Moretti, even if strongly impacted by time and modifications performed during the 70s, is one of the most relevant works of Italian Rationalism. The external Carrara marble envelope of the building significantly characterizes this architectural work. Such envelope, even though apparently similar to those of many coeval buildings, actually displays very peculiar and unique technical and aesthetical choices. Starting from the construction phase, the technical choices led to many challenges and favored the decay of the stone cladding. Interventions aimed at safeguarding the marble envelope from detachment from the base layer were conducted during the years but did not managed to eventually solve the problems related to marble slabs stability. On the contrary, in many cases, the restorations were conducted improperly and led to additional decay. Our work aims at disseminating the first results of the analyses that the research group is carrying out on the architectural masterpiece, and in particular it in-depth analyzes the historical data about the construction and modifications that the Casa delle Armi and its marble envelope underwent.