Culture Economy: innovative strategies to sustainable restoration of artistic heritage. Part I - Development of natural gels for cleaning the stone materials of cultural heritage from iron stains and biodeteriogenic microorganisms

A wide spread of multidisciplinary results was obtained for the Smart Cities and Communities and Social Innovation project supported by MIUR and entitled “Product and process innovation for the maintenance, conservation and sustainable restoration of cultural heritage”. The project basically suggested the op- portunity to avoid emergency closures of sites of high historical, architectural and cultural value, to proceed with planned interventions that regularly guarantee the well-being of the site and its conservation. A new organization of the protection, conservation and maintenance system was thus proposed (Part I and Part II). The choice of the test materials was suggested by their widespread use in the monu- mental heritage of Southern Italy and in particular in ‘The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera – UNESCO World Heritage Site” which was the site where part of the lab activity was transferred “in situ”. In particular, the repor- ted activity in Part I was aimed at ensuring a sustainable restoration based on safe cleaning methods on calcareous stones, able to reduce professional diseases and en- vironmental pollution. Trying to replace traditional products with new derivatives, some natural products, as enzymatic surfactants or natural metal chelators, for iron stains and new biocompatible systems, i.e. oxidative alginate-biocide hydrogels, against biodeteriogenic attacks are proposed.