Study and characterization of the ancient bricks of monastery of “San Filippo di Fragalà” in Frazzanò (Sicily) Original Research Article

The ancient bricks of the monastery of Fragalà in Frazzanò, the first Basilian-Norman center in Sicily and symbol of 15 centuries of cultural life, were studied and characterized by a combination of techniques (INAA, ICP, porosimetry, HPLC, TG-DTA and XRD). Chemical analysis shows that the Byzantine samples were mainly manufactured by calcareous clay while medieval ones were made of limeless clay. The combined results of TG-DTA and XRD analyses, based on the presence of high-T Ca silicate phases, suggest that the firing temperature was not exceeding 900 °C while HPLC investigations evidence that the building does not suffer from decay phenomena due to the presence of soluble salts.