Conservation and safeguard of color in historic building surfaces

In the context of the culture of recovery, conservation and maintenance of buildings, the study of techniques, materials, color and surface finishes of historic buildings plays an important role. The conservation of these elements is important for both architectural and environmental aspects. The color of the wall surfaces depend on the use of sands and peculiar pigments, mostly local ones used in plasters, as well as on the use of stones or other covering materials deriving from a consolidated historical and technical tradition. The Italian vernacular architecture of historic centers has always been characterized by peculiar shapes and colors in the different regional areas, in the same way the courtly or monumental architecture is characterized by colors deriving from the use of specific materials present in the places. Even the signs and patinas found on the surfaces allow us to better understand the construction events of the artefact over time. It is therefore of extreme interest to preserve the surfaces of historical artefacts as much as possible, respecting their authenticity and avoiding altering, with inappropriate repair interventions, the perception of the image of the building in its environmental context. What and how to preserve the integrity of architectural surfaces, due to their material value and evidence of a consolidated construction tradition, requires adequate cultural and technical tools. Among the latter, color plans can allow to monitor and control interventions on the surfaces of historic buildings. On the other hand, however, there is a risk of considering the color plans as projects finalized in themselves, thus losing sight of the transformations linked to the life history of the buildings, the vicissitudes and mutations engraved in the skin and color of their surfaces in search of an ideal original philological identity.