Survey and Drawings for the study and enhancement of ancient wall graffiti: the case of the Baptistery of Castiglione Olona.

Abstract

The paper present a non-invasive method for the documentation of ancient graffiti on frescoed surfaces. Graffiti is an important historical testimony to preserve and enhance, providing important data related to past events, such as dates of death or descriptions of daily life events. Archaeological survey methods, developed over decades of experimentation and practice, are not often sufficient for the documentation of graffiti on frescoes due to the different characteristics of support surfaces and their conservation needs. The case study shows the methodology used for the documentation of some of the late medieval graffiti on frescoes painted by Masolino da Panicale in 1435, in the Baptistery of the Collegiate of Castiglione Olona (Varese).

Keywords

• graffiti
• drawing
• conservation