Conservar Património (Jan 2008)
Cause of decay and intervention on external mortars of the S. Vittore Church - Stresa (Italy)
Abstract
The ecclesiastical complex entitled to S. Vittore rises on the Pescatori Island in the Lake Maggiore in the northern Italy. The building was constructed in the X century and was afterwards widened in the XVII century. Inside the several steps in which the total plan of restoration of the church is divided (the diagnosis and the elimination of the causes of decay, the restoration of the external mortars and of the internal frescoes, the control of indoor environmental conditions), this work concerns the preliminary diagnostic and cognitive investigations and the subsequent intervention on the external mortars. The initial investigations have been addressed to understanding the causes of decay of the building and to the characterization of the external mortars. It was so verified that the main cause of decay is the water present in masonries coming from the meteoric water rather than from rising damp through the ground. The characterizations of the external mortars have shown that visible differences between the ancient (X century) and the more recent masonry parts result from the different binder-aggregate ratio, rather than from the mineralogical-petrographic composition. Following the results of this first step of the investigations, the rain water-drainage of the ground around the church has been carried out in order to collect and to remove the meteoric waters; the collection and removal system of the rain-waters has also been arranged. With regards to the external plasters, to ensure the visual, material and functional compatibility with the existing mortars it has been carried out the sealing and integration of existing mortars and plaster with compounds chosen on the basis of the analysis results and of the local constructive traditions. "Protected" in this way the external covering, the plan will continue with the internal restorations.
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