Ricerc@Sapienza

Mural paintings in the hypogeal environment of the Tomba degli Scudi in Tarquinia, Italy, show a quite
dramatic condition: the plaster mortar lost his cohesion and a white layer coating is spread over almost
all the wall surfaces. The aim of this research is to verify if the activity of microorganisms could be one of
the main causes of deterioration and if the adopted countermeasures (conventional biocide treatments)
are sufficient to stop it. A biocide treatment of the whole environment has been carried out before the

In this work, we have analyzed and characterized a white patina, that covers the walls and frescoes of two Etruscan tombs located in the Monterozzi’s necropolis of Tarquinia: the Tomba degli Scudi and the Tomba Bartoccini. The powders have been retrieved from these areas before and during the intervention of the restorers and then SEMEDX, FT-IR and XRD have been performed for the characterization. These white powders are formed by rod-like and crystalline calcium carbonate, the length of which is a few micrometers, while the thickness has an average value of about 400 nm.