La diagnostica strumentale come fondamento della conoscenza per il progetto di restauro e manutenzione

Every artifact is the outcome of a culture that generated it. Even buildings, the result of human initiative, are a cultural testimony to the time in which they were built and modified and to the peculiarities of the area in which they are located. Analyses of the context and of the building, in its dimension of historical and cultural palimpsest, are the essential sources of knowledge to guide the design choices for a recovery and restoration of the building, if further deepened and confirmed by a correct approach of diagnostic investigations. Advances in scientific knowledge and the highly interdisciplinary nature of diagnostic investigations, especially non-destructive ones, now make it possible to have increasingly effective methods for investigating the physical nature of the construction, reducing the risk of altering traces and relationships between materials that may themselves be a valid source of knowledge. Crucial in this analytical process is the figure of a trained professional, who knows how to make proper use of instrumental diagnostics, orienting design choices towards the preservation of the material palimpsest and modern reuse requirements. By analysing various examples of research and restoration projects carried out by the authors, the aim is to show how an anamnestic project on a cultural asset or a historical building, supported by the direct results of instrumental diagnostics, both of the structures and of the finishing and decorative materials, should therefore become an initial and unavoidable phase of study, on a par with the phase of survey of geometries and historical sources. This will contribute to the creation of an archive of knowledge and will complete its results in order to reduce as far as possible any margin of uncertainty, for a better and more responsible management not only of the scientific and cultural potential of the artefact, but also of the public resources devoted to its conservation.