Micro-analysis as a Tool for the Characterization of Historical Masonry Buildings: The Decorative Elements of the Basilica Della Beata Vergine Maria Del Rosario (Polesella, Rovigo)

The Basilica of the Beata Vergine Maria del Rosario of Polesella, the subject of this study, was built in the mid-eighteenth century in the village of Polesella (in the province of Rovigo, Veneto Region, Italy). Some restoration work on the Basilica has been necessary for recent years; this has allowed sampling of interior plasters on which preliminary microanalyses have been performed to better characterize the building materials used, in support of subsequent repair work. Among the many planned restoration works, interventions on the interior walls were, in addition, also planned. For this, the interior plasters and interior painting of the church were studied through observations with SEM–EDS. The objective of this work is mainly to show how archeometric analyses can be a valuable tool to improve the knowledge and characterization of the materials used, in this case, on some decorative elements of the Basilica. In particular, regarding the frescoes, the research was also aimed at identifying the type of pigments used by the author Luigi Battisti, believed to be the author of some of the works on display.