"TORNATE ALL'ANTICO E SARÀ UN PROGRESSO". STUDI SUL DEGRADO DA UMIDITÀ DELL’ARENA DI VERONA.

Marco Cofani*, Davide Del Curto*

* Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Architettura e Pianificazione, Laboratorio di analisi e diagnostica del costruito

ABSTRACT

The cavea of the Verona Amphitheatre is made up of stone steps lying on the underlying structure of walls and vaults, built in opus caementicium. The interstices between the steps are sealed with mortar and protect the underlying structures from water infiltration.

The seal of this sort of viable roof made by discontinuous elements is assigned to the slight inclination of the steps, to the overlap between the blocks and the continuity of the joints. The conservation of the cavea has been the subject of specific attention in the course of history, after the restoration of the monument started in XVIth century. In the modern era, conservators have often questioned about the improving of the sealing performance of the cavea, finding some technical solution still relevant for the current restoration.

The text presents a study on the hydraulic and thermo-hygrometric behavior of the cavea, the operating procedures and the test protocol used for the evaluation of water resistance and the results obtained in the first two years of monitoring.

KEY-WORDS: Amphitheatre – Verona – water infiltration – waterproofing techniques – climate monitoring.