The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability Assessment

Abstract

Sant’Angelo in Criptis (Santeramo in Puglia, South Italy) is a karst cave located in the Alta Murgia National Park (aspiring geopark), presently degraded, but with signs of intense past visiting activity for worship, as testified by the beautiful wall paintings and the large number of inscriptions and engravings on the cave walls. With the aim to permit the desirable restoration and the following fruition of this ancient geo-cultural heritage, a multidisciplinary investigation of the cave was carried out in this study. The 3D cave model permitted a detailed map of the area and highlighted that the cave vault, although very regular, somewhere presents chimneys that develop upwards, indicating areas where the rock thickness is now very small. The stability analysis indicates that presently, the cave does not show remarkable signs of instability, but block failures, toppling and roof collapse are possible. Archaeometry investigations confirmed the past importance of this holy site, as testified by the overlapping in the paintings of three different pictorial cycles and the use of precious pigments, thus confirming the necessity of preservation through a conservation management strategy for a full future fruition of the cave.