Portable non-invasive imaging method for monitoring the conservation of frescoes

Today, thanks to the development and the rapid diffusion of digital technologies, use of imaging optical methods as diagnostic tools in cultural heritage is rapidly increasing. In this research we present the use of multispectral imaging for monitoring the conservation of frescoes. The interaction of wall paintings in churches and monuments of historical interest with the environment is the first cause of their degradation, especially when the frescoes were detached from the wall. The technique presented here uses a portable LED multispectral imaging and advanced statistics algorithms to monitoring the frescoes surfaces: with imaging method we can examine the entire surface of a fresco. This paper reports the application of the method for monitoring the conservation of the frescoes in the deconsecrated church of S. Maria di Castello (Valle Lomellina, PV, Italy), painted by a local artist in the XV century. Monitoring of frescoes, starting concurrently with the installation of a climate controlled system in the church, is able to identify inappropriate storage conditions or degradations processes in action.