We provide an overview of chemical transformations that proceed spontaneously, by mixing
of initially solid reactants, and are accelerated and/or directed through gentle stimuli in the …

In the last decades the interest of the scientific community in characterizing, monitoring and
conserving objects belonging to Cultural Heritage has continuously increased. In fact there …

Our cultural heritage is made with almost all type of materials produced by the nature and
used by men to realize several types of artefacts from very simple mono-components to …

The role of ivy (Hedera helix L.) on building walls is much debated, with arguments being
put forward for it playing a biodeteriorative role (for example through ivy rootlets exploiting …

As well as their destructive roles, plants, animals and microorganisms contribute to
geomorphology and ecology via direct and indirect bioprotection, which can reduce …

Two limestones from Crete, Greece and a dolomite from Mansfield, UK were subjected to
combined microbial and physical weathering simulation cycles, in an attempt to assess the …

As moisture is the main cause or concause of decay of ancient building materials, a wide
range of measurement techniques is presently applied for detecting its presence in …

Severe stone deterioration is evident at the Cologne cathedral. In particular, the
“Drachenfels” trachyte, which was the building material of the medieval construction period …

Salt damage can affect the service life of numerous building structures, both historical and
contemporary, in a significant way. In this review, various damage mechanisms to porous …

Weathering processes have been studied in detail for many natural building stones. The
most commonly used analytical techniques in these studies are thin-section petrography …