The Byzantine Church of Santa Croce in Ravenna (Italy): Experimental Investigation on Historic Materials and Monitoring of Rising Damp

Rising damp is an almost inevitable and hazardous phenomenon for historic buildings. This phenomenon, which already exists in buildings (to a lesser or greater extent), accelerates when faced with disasters that dramatically increase the water content within the building. While researchers are developing new monitoring methods to examine the effects of rising damp on structures effectively, organizations are designing new risk management plans to minimize the impact of disasters to which cultural heritages are exposed. The case study presented in this thesis includes studies carried out in the Byzantine church of Santa Croce in Ravenna, Italy, which was exposed to rising moisture from flooding due to soil submersion. By analyzing the samples collected from the church, the extent of the decay was determined. Moreover, a new method ensured that the monitoring of moisture in the church was reliable. The data obtained can be used to support the multi-disciplinary studies carried out in the church of Santa Croce, which was selected as part of the EU Horizon 2020 SHELTER project.