Black on White: Microbial Growth Darkens the External Marble of Florence Cathedral
Weathering processes seriously affect the durability of outdoor marble monuments. In urban environments, a very common deterioration phenomenon is the dark discoloration or blackening of marble. This paper describes a multidisciplinary study on the state of conservation of white marbles of the Flore...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/13/6163 |
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| author | Alba Patrizia Santo Oana Adriana Cuzman Dominique Petrocchi Daniela Pinna Teresa Salvatici Brunella Perito |
| author_facet | Alba Patrizia Santo Oana Adriana Cuzman Dominique Petrocchi Daniela Pinna Teresa Salvatici Brunella Perito |
| author_sort | Alba Patrizia Santo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Weathering processes seriously affect the durability of outdoor marble monuments. In urban environments, a very common deterioration phenomenon is the dark discoloration or blackening of marble. This paper describes a multidisciplinary study on the state of conservation of white marbles of the Florence Cathedral and the microbial community involved in their deterioration. The study is focused on the widespread dark discoloration of marble analyzed in two differently exposed sites of the Cathedral. It aims to provide information useful for future interventions to control the microbial growth. By chemical and petrographic analysis, in situ and ex situ microscopy, and cultivation and identification of microorganisms, it was found that (i) the darkening is mainly due to the growth of black fungi and dark cyanobacteria and (ii) the state of conservation of marble and the growth pattern of microorganisms seems to be linked to the microclimatic conditions, in particular to solar radiation exposure. This is the first report on the lithobiontic community inhabiting the Florence Cathedral marbles, with a more detailed investigation of the culturable mycobiota. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:52:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ef2ee9ea38f49228a4241257d87f25d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:52:52Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ef2ee9ea38f49228a4241257d87f25d2023-11-22T02:34:40ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172021-07-011113616310.3390/app11136163Black on White: Microbial Growth Darkens the External Marble of Florence CathedralAlba Patrizia Santo0Oana Adriana Cuzman1Dominique Petrocchi2Daniela Pinna3Teresa Salvatici4Brunella Perito5Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, ItalyInstitute of Heritage Science, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, ItalyRavenna Campus, University of Bologna, Via Guaccimanni, 42, 48121 Ravenna, ItalyDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, ItalyWeathering processes seriously affect the durability of outdoor marble monuments. In urban environments, a very common deterioration phenomenon is the dark discoloration or blackening of marble. This paper describes a multidisciplinary study on the state of conservation of white marbles of the Florence Cathedral and the microbial community involved in their deterioration. The study is focused on the widespread dark discoloration of marble analyzed in two differently exposed sites of the Cathedral. It aims to provide information useful for future interventions to control the microbial growth. By chemical and petrographic analysis, in situ and ex situ microscopy, and cultivation and identification of microorganisms, it was found that (i) the darkening is mainly due to the growth of black fungi and dark cyanobacteria and (ii) the state of conservation of marble and the growth pattern of microorganisms seems to be linked to the microclimatic conditions, in particular to solar radiation exposure. This is the first report on the lithobiontic community inhabiting the Florence Cathedral marbles, with a more detailed investigation of the culturable mycobiota.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/13/6163marble decaybiodeteriorationdark discolorationstone microbiotablack fungicultural heritage conservation |
| spellingShingle | Alba Patrizia Santo Oana Adriana Cuzman Dominique Petrocchi Daniela Pinna Teresa Salvatici Brunella Perito Black on White: Microbial Growth Darkens the External Marble of Florence Cathedral Applied Sciences marble decay biodeterioration dark discoloration stone microbiota black fungi cultural heritage conservation |
| title | Black on White: Microbial Growth Darkens the External Marble of Florence Cathedral |
| title_full | Black on White: Microbial Growth Darkens the External Marble of Florence Cathedral |
| title_fullStr | Black on White: Microbial Growth Darkens the External Marble of Florence Cathedral |
| title_full_unstemmed | Black on White: Microbial Growth Darkens the External Marble of Florence Cathedral |
| title_short | Black on White: Microbial Growth Darkens the External Marble of Florence Cathedral |
| title_sort | black on white microbial growth darkens the external marble of florence cathedral |
| topic | marble decay biodeterioration dark discoloration stone microbiota black fungi cultural heritage conservation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/13/6163 |
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