Enriching the knowledge of Ostia Antica painted fragments: a multi-methodological approach Bracci Susanna a,⇑,1 , Cantisani Emma a , Conti Claudia b , Magrini Donata a , Vettori Silvia a , Tomassini Paolo c , Marano Martina d a Institute of Heritage Science – National Council of Research, Via Madonna del Piano, 10, 50019 Florence, Italy b Institute of Heritage Science – National Council of Research, Via Cozzi, 53, 20125 Milan, Italy c École française de Rome, Centro Studi Pittura Romana Ostiense, Italy d Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), Université catholique de Louvain, Centro Studi Pittura Romana Ostiense, Italy highlights  Scientific knowledge of the palette and technique of Roman wall paintings of Ostia Antica.  Use of optimized protocol integrating both non-invasive and microinvasive techniques.  Analogies and differences in the materials employed correlated to the different styles.  An important source of information for future research especially for the wall paintings still in place. graphical abstract article info Article history: Received 20 February 2021 Received in revised form 16 July 2021 Accepted 3 August 2021 Available online 13 August 2021 Keywords: Roman wall paintings Pigments Multi-analytical approach Non-invasive analytical techniques Optimized analytical approach abstract This paper presents the study of selected painted fragments from different contexts of Ostia Antica city, dating between 2nd century BCE and the end of the 1st century CE. The aim is to identify the raw mate- rials used and to understand the execution techniques through a non-invasive protocol including tech- niques based either on multiband imaging (Visible-VIS, Ultraviolet induced Luminescence - UVL and Visible Induced Luminescence - VIL) and single spot analyses (Fiber Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy- FORS and portable X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry - XRF). The most representative and interesting frag- ments were sampled for further studies with laboratory techniques such as optical microscopy (OM) and electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared and micro-Raman Spectroscopies (FT-IR and lRaman). The extensive use of non-invasive techniques, even working on fragments, is proved to be the most robust and effective approach enabling the analysis of a high number of areas, dramatically increasing the statistical meaning of the collected data. The elaboration of such a huge number of data allows high- lighting differences and similarities, thus achieving a more realistic overview of the materials composi- tion and addressing the sampling to the more significant and complex areas. Ó 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2021.120260 1386-1425/Ó 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: susanna.bracci@cnr.it (B. Susanna). 1 This paper is dedicated to the memory of our beloved friend and colleague who suddenly passed away during this research. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy 265 (2022) 120260 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/saa