Indoor monitoring of Scrovegni Chapel Crypt

Abstract

The indoor microclimate of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova (Italy) was analysed first in the ‘80s. The early study operates in the best way for what concerns the choice of measurement devices and their positioning. Starting from 1995 a Scientific-technical Board coordinates the various initiatives commissioned for the surveys of a conservation of the Scrovegni building structures and for the preservation of frescos. However only during the last ten years, the activities of the Board have been addressed also on the study of the hypogeal environments under the Chapel and in the external environment around it in order to prevent possible damage due to the presence of water which frequently submerges the floor and part of the vertical structures of the crypt (perimeter walls and brick partitions). The investigations have been therefore extended to the crypt. The present work reports the preliminary results of the cyclical survey campaign launched last year and still ongoing: passive thermographic techniques (non-invasive and non-destructive) have been used for the identification and the investigation of the relationship between the boundary seasonal thermohygrometric conditions and the rainfall variations and other exogenous phenomena related to the complex water system of the area on which the Scrovegni Chapel stands.