The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability Assessment

Sant’Angelo in Criptis (Santeramo in Puglia, South Italy) is a karst cave located in the Alta Murgia National Park (aspiring geopark), presently degraded, but with signs of intense past visiting activity for worship, as testified by the beautiful wall paintings and the large number of inscriptions a...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anna Garavelli, Gioacchino Francesco Andriani, Giovanna Fioretti, Vincenzo Iurilli, Antonella Marsico, Daniela Pinto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
Series:Geosciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/9/382
_version_ 1797519164510830592
author Anna Garavelli
Gioacchino Francesco Andriani
Giovanna Fioretti
Vincenzo Iurilli
Antonella Marsico
Daniela Pinto
author_facet Anna Garavelli
Gioacchino Francesco Andriani
Giovanna Fioretti
Vincenzo Iurilli
Antonella Marsico
Daniela Pinto
author_sort Anna Garavelli
collection DOAJ
description Sant’Angelo in Criptis (Santeramo in Puglia, South Italy) is a karst cave located in the Alta Murgia National Park (aspiring geopark), presently degraded, but with signs of intense past visiting activity for worship, as testified by the beautiful wall paintings and the large number of inscriptions and engravings on the cave walls. With the aim to permit the desirable restoration and the following fruition of this ancient geo-cultural heritage, a multidisciplinary investigation of the cave was carried out in this study. The 3D cave model permitted a detailed map of the area and highlighted that the cave vault, although very regular, somewhere presents chimneys that develop upwards, indicating areas where the rock thickness is now very small. The stability analysis indicates that presently, the cave does not show remarkable signs of instability, but block failures, toppling and roof collapse are possible. Archaeometry investigations confirmed the past importance of this holy site, as testified by the overlapping in the paintings of three different pictorial cycles and the use of precious pigments, thus confirming the necessity of preservation through a conservation management strategy for a full future fruition of the cave.
first_indexed 2024-03-10T07:39:11Z
format Article
id doaj.art-f184cc0fd72a454a8f7987f1220fd385
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2076-3263
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-10T07:39:11Z
publishDate 2021-09-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Geosciences
spelling doaj.art-f184cc0fd72a454a8f7987f1220fd3852023-11-22T13:16:06ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632021-09-0111938210.3390/geosciences11090382The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability AssessmentAnna Garavelli0Gioacchino Francesco Andriani1Giovanna Fioretti2Vincenzo Iurilli3Antonella Marsico4Daniela Pinto5Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, dell’Università di Bari “A. Moro”, Via Edoardo Orabona, 4, 70124 Bari, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, dell’Università di Bari “A. Moro”, Via Edoardo Orabona, 4, 70124 Bari, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, dell’Università di Bari “A. Moro”, Via Edoardo Orabona, 4, 70124 Bari, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, dell’Università di Bari “A. Moro”, Via Edoardo Orabona, 4, 70124 Bari, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, dell’Università di Bari “A. Moro”, Via Edoardo Orabona, 4, 70124 Bari, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, dell’Università di Bari “A. Moro”, Via Edoardo Orabona, 4, 70124 Bari, ItalySant’Angelo in Criptis (Santeramo in Puglia, South Italy) is a karst cave located in the Alta Murgia National Park (aspiring geopark), presently degraded, but with signs of intense past visiting activity for worship, as testified by the beautiful wall paintings and the large number of inscriptions and engravings on the cave walls. With the aim to permit the desirable restoration and the following fruition of this ancient geo-cultural heritage, a multidisciplinary investigation of the cave was carried out in this study. The 3D cave model permitted a detailed map of the area and highlighted that the cave vault, although very regular, somewhere presents chimneys that develop upwards, indicating areas where the rock thickness is now very small. The stability analysis indicates that presently, the cave does not show remarkable signs of instability, but block failures, toppling and roof collapse are possible. Archaeometry investigations confirmed the past importance of this holy site, as testified by the overlapping in the paintings of three different pictorial cycles and the use of precious pigments, thus confirming the necessity of preservation through a conservation management strategy for a full future fruition of the cave.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/9/382Sant’Angelo in CriptisAlta MurgiaGeoparkcave churchkarstkinematic analysis
spellingShingle Anna Garavelli
Gioacchino Francesco Andriani
Giovanna Fioretti
Vincenzo Iurilli
Antonella Marsico
Daniela Pinto
The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability Assessment
Geosciences
Sant’Angelo in Criptis
Alta Murgia
Geopark
cave church
karst
kinematic analysis
title The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability Assessment
title_full The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability Assessment
title_fullStr The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability Assessment
title_full_unstemmed The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability Assessment
title_short The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability Assessment
title_sort sant angelo in criptis cave church in santeramo in colle apulia south italy a multidisciplinary study for the evaluation of conservation state and stability assessment
topic Sant’Angelo in Criptis
Alta Murgia
Geopark
cave church
karst
kinematic analysis
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/9/382
work_keys_str_mv AT annagaravelli thesantangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT gioacchinofrancescoandriani thesantangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT giovannafioretti thesantangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT vincenzoiurilli thesantangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT antonellamarsico thesantangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT danielapinto thesantangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT annagaravelli santangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT gioacchinofrancescoandriani santangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT giovannafioretti santangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT vincenzoiurilli santangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT antonellamarsico santangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment
AT danielapinto santangeloincriptiscavechurchinsanteramoincolleapuliasouthitalyamultidisciplinarystudyfortheevaluationofconservationstateandstabilityassessment