In this study the elemental composition analysis of three bronze sculptures by Giuseppe Renda (one of the most famous interpreters of the Neapolitan Verism in the 19th and 20th centuries), respectively named La Fortuna, Scugnizzo and Non mi toccare, was performed, for the first time, by means of portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy.
The analysis of the investigated artefacts, closely related to the sample preparation and preservation, was carried out with the aim of improving the knowledge of the Southern Italy bronze art of the second half of the 20th century and in order to suggest to restorers the best interventions to minimize the conservation problems that could affect the durability of the precious artefacts.
Noteworthy, the achieved results represent useful and essential tools to obtain information on the execution technique, in a completely non-invasive way, and to address management issues of the investigated artworks.

The fragments preserved at the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg, under the shelfmark P. Hamb. Arab. 68 are, to date, the longest and oldest excerpt of extant Qurʾān on papyrus. The fragments contain the Sura 2 in its entirety, written over seven bifolia originally sewed in a single quire. The writing incorporates the use of diacritical dots as well as markers indicating the ends of verses and text. Three of the seven folios were analysed to determine the inks used in writing the texts, the dots and the markers. The results indicate that the text was written with a carbon-based ink characterised by the presence of trace amounts of copper, possibly due to impurities in the water or the use of a copper or bronze inkwell. The diacritical dots completing the text were penned using the same ink while a different carbon ink, without copper, was used for the decorative elements of the text.

The Orgères settlement (La Thuile-AO- 1665m.) is located at the entrance of the Vallon des Chavannes, an alternative road to the Piccolo San Bernardo pass. The archaeological excavations have revealed a multi-layered context (1st-18th century AD) with buildings functional to the control of territorial management connected to the valley economy based on breeding, the production of wool, milk and derivatives, wood, hay, etc. On the basis of archaeozoological and isotopic analyses of animal teeth we know that Orgères was a permanent and non-seasonal settlement. In this work, DNA-based metabarcoding analyses were conducted on soil microbial communities and plant remains at different archaeological layers. The laboratory data made it possible to identify some important indicators in order to draw an initial picture of living conditions at high altitudes.

The case-study of the Camponeschi Monument (1432), located in San Giuseppe Artigiano in L'Aquila, raises numerous questions, both in the field of art history and applied diagnostics. The investigation project started in order to document and characterise the polychrome and polymateric aspect of the work, sculpted in local limestone: this polychromy was only understood during the last restoration (2008-2009). It was supposed to cover the sculpture with unusual vitality, as a sign of power of Camponeschi s family, lords of L Aquila. After the first phase of investigations (UV, IR, IRFC), curated by Ottaviano Caruso, we will proceed with XRF, Raman and LIF analyses, maybe even developing new technologies ad hoc, trusting also to elaborate a 3D model with different layers, useful for knowledge, conservation and monitoring of the artefact and its interactions with the environment. Moreover, this case-study places art history and diagnostics in a reciprocal dialogue.

The aim of the research is to experiment with the new possibilities offered by artificial intelligence applied to surveying. Ponte San Lorenzo, a perfectly preserved archaeological artefact under Via Riviera dei Ponti Romani in Padua, one of the case studies of the 2018 project of the University of Padua entitled: PD-Invisible: PaDova INnovative VISions - visualizations and Imaginings Behind the city Learning, was the object of an accurate integrated image and range-based survey and made it possible to compare the different 3D acquisition methodologies of the cultural heritage. The Bridge is now digitally rendered through the new system developed by Nvidia called Instant Nerf and the new web-based software Luma AI which exploit machine learning and Volume Ray Merching for the creation of virtual twins. The same database of photographs taken for photogrammetry was used as a training database for the algorithm. The research aims to evaluate the results of the new survey system and to compare them with the results of the methods used in the past.