Journal of Cultural Heritage 18 (2016) 375–379 Available online at ScienceDirect www.sciencedirect.com Case study Microclimatic monitoring for the investigation of the different state of conservation of the stucco statues of the Longobard Temple in Cividale del Friuli (Udine, Italy) Francesca Becherini a , Adriana Bernardi a,∗ , Maria Concetta Di Tuccio a , Arianna Vivarelli a , Luc Pockelè b , Sandro De Grandi b , Stefano Fortuna c , Alessandra Quendolo d a Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova, Italy b R.E.D. srl, viale dell’Industria 58, 35129 Padova, Italy c IUAV University of Venice, Department of Design and Planning of Complex Environment, Santa Croce 191, 30135 Tolentini Venezia, Italy d Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM), University of Trento, via Mesiano 77, Trento, Italy a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 27 January 2015 Accepted 17 July 2015 Available online 9 October 2015 Keywords: Microclimatic monitoring Stucco ornaments Cultural heritage conservation Longobard Temple Degradation of works of art a b s t r a c t A microclimatic monitoring of the Longobard Temple in Cividale del Friuli, Udine (Italy), was performed between 2011 and 2012 aimed at investigating the causes of the different damage features observed in the stucco statues located in the opposite sides of west-south-west wall. The thermo-hygrometric conditions of the air close to the statues were continuously monitored for one year and the surface temperature of the statues was investigated by means of thermography. According to the results, no remarkable differences in the current microclimatic conditions measured at the two sides of the west- south-west wall were found, hence the cause of the different state of conservation of the statues has to be ascribed to phenomena occurred in the past. Nevertheless, the thermo-hygrometric values measured close to the statues are not fully in compliance with respect to the ranges indicated in literature for the conservation of the stucco ornaments. © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. 1. Research aims A microclimatic monitoring [1–4] inside the Longobard Tem- ple of Cividale del Friuli in Udine (Italy) was performed in the period 2011–2012 to assess the microclimatic conditions close to the stucco statues of the west-south-west wall (referred as “west wall”) and investigate if the microclimate could be the cause of the different damage features observed in the two sides of that wall (referred as “right” and “left” sides) (Fig. 1). This study was included in a multidisciplinary project aimed at assessing the general state of conservation of the Temple, identifying the risks for its long- term conservation and finding sustainable solutions to improve its management. The present paper is focused on the results of the microclimatic monitoring, whilst the results of the whole project are out of the aims of this paper. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +00390498295906. E-mail addresses: f.becherini@isac.cnr.it (F. Becherini), a.bernardi@isac.cnr.it (A. Bernardi), luc.pockele@red-srl.com (L. Pockelè), stefanofortuna@iuav.it (S. Fortuna), quendolo.a@libero.it (A. Quendolo). 2. Introduction The Longobard Temple in Cividale del Friuli, an extraordinary testimony of the architecture of the high Middle Ages, was declared world heritage site by UNESCO in 2011. Among the numerous stucco decorations, the six female figures standing alongside the central window of the west wall have made the Temple world- famous (Fig. 1 and Supplementary data, Fig. S1) [5]. Now they are white all over, but faint traces of colour indicated that they were painted [6]. The history of the Temple is pretty turbulent. Following an earthquake in 1222–1223, the oratory stood unroofed for more than 20 years. Rain and snow come into the building and the moist atmosphere had led to vegetal growth, corrupting both pigments and surfaces [5]. Since the mid nineteenth century, the Temple has undergone a complex series of preservation works and several investiga- tions. The stucco statues nowadays show signs of disgregation and abrasion, detachment, dilavation and changing colour. During the restoration carried out in 1860, the intervention on the last statue on the right side was different from the others, being it in the worst conservation conditions. Wide areas on the face, neck, nimbus and http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2015.07.001 1296-2074/© 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.