A Multi-technical approach to study metallic cultural heritage objects belonging to the monumental cemetery of staglieno

The Staglieno monumental cemetery in Genoa features many artefacts made of metal materials with great historic and artiscic value. The state of decay of many of them, caused by different factors (atmospheric agents, thefts, vandalism, lack of maintenance), highlights the importance of their preservation. This article aims at defining a working protocol that, through the application of non-invasive and micro invasive techniquespertaining to materials sciences and to the evaluation of the corrosion process, makes it possible to evaluate the nature of materials of metal objects and their state of preservation. In fact, the knowledge of the materials the works of art are made of allowes the planning of a proper maintenance and restoration project. The working protocol was applied to a decorative metal object (lamp-holding putto and its mounting) from the semi-circular colonnade of the Staglieno monumental cemetery and made it possible to outline the pros and cons of the different techniques used, as well as make some reasoning on the usefulness of the collected results, characterize the materials forming the two artefacts and assess theri state of preservation.