Le malte tradizionali nell'Umbria medievale

The study of architectural surfaces is fundamental for the historical and critical interpretation of the artefacts and their constructive and conservative events. However, it often happens that this kind of studies are undermined by too invasive restoration actions. In Umbria, the high seismic risk over the years has strongly unbalanced the attention on the structural aspect of the architectures to the detriment of their formal authenticity causing serious losses of material of high documentary value. Current study focuses on architectural conservation and restoration aspects and promoting the authenticity of architectural heritage while facilitating the understating of artifacts. The first results of the study of the composition of traditional medieval Umbrian mortars are presented. The nature and origin of the constituent materials were examined in order to evaluate possible historical and geographical reasons underlying the construction choices.