Author
ROMUALDO MONTAGNA Universita di Ancona

Abstract
Building restoration involves not only physical rebuilding but also the identification and conservation of its peculiarities are essential both for architectural and structural problems. The process must lead to the identification of the main characteristics and become a major part of the restoration design. The grid that can relate the different characteristics of an historical building to each other is the knowledge of its development and the changes made. The geometrical survey and historical research are not able, by themselves, to identify those characteristics that are so important for the restoration design. The other key is to employ systematic measurement of several forms of information using different technical devices, some of them very specialist. It also involves high costs that often make it impossible to practice. In the case of Palazzo Pianciani in Spoleto, the owner had sufficient funds to organize a full range of modern diagnostic techniques. Architectural photogrammetry, endoscopic investigation, flat jack compression tests, direct-shear tests and stratigraphical analysis of wall surfaces were employed. These were developed together with a traditional architectural historical survey and a static survey. The paper shows the results and what the method can offer to the designer in order to optimise the restoration works.