Integrated methods for analysis of deterioration of cultural heritage

The study of the deterioration of stone buildings is difficult, due to the complexity of the relationship between different physical and chemical processes involved. The causes of the deterioration on a building of great cultural importance, the Crypt of the “Cattedrale di Otranto”, Apulia-Italy, were assesed through non destructive integrated biological and physical surveys. BIOLOGICAL SURVEYS: to identify the fungin species, giving also their spatial distribution.MICROCLIMATIC SURVEYS: to analyse the evolution of the main thermohygrometrical parameters. Moreover also buried wet structures could be involved in the process of degradation, so we performed: GROUND PENETRATING RADAR (GPR) SURVEYS : to localise these discontinuities and to analyse their influence; to evaluate, by means of a velocity analysis, the underground water content