27th November 2013. Ph.D. defence of the original thesis Nuove tecnologie per lo studio della policromia sui sarcofagi romani: proposte per una standardizzazione metodologica (= New technologies for the study of the ancient polychromy on Roman marble sarcophagi: proposals for a methodological standardization) at the Department of Archaeology, University of Pisa, Italy.

The main aim of this research is to identify the scientific method and the use of digital technologies to acquire information about pigments, painting techniques and procedures for the colour and gilding application on metropolitan Roman marble sarcophagi (2nd - 4th cent. AD). The study covers the analytical work and cataloguing, performed according to the standardized norms, of the polychrome sarcophagi identified in the Musei Vaticani, the Museo Nationale Romano, and the Musei Capitolini collections. Moreover, it identifies, test and assess a set of open source software, to then suggest some amendments designed to increase their effectiveness toward the study of ancient polychromy.

The research was divided into three main groups:

1. Identification and classification of polychrome and gilded traces preserved on Roman marble sarcophagi of the three mentioned museums collections, after the standard ICCD - Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation of Italy. Further development of an analytical investigation method supported by the results of scientific analyses in order to identify the used pigments and dyes, their application techniques and that of the gold leaf.
2. Testing of the Ministerial web-based Information System documentation for the Restoration of Yards - SICaR, in order to create a common method for the acquisition, comparison and subsequent use of the information on the polychromy and gilding, with special attention to the scientific analysis results.
3. Creation a photorealistic 3D digital model of a sarcophagus which has been chosen as a case study; acquisition of the knowledge of its polychrome peculiarities through the use of scientific analyses and the identified digital open source tools (e.g. MeshLab); testing of the system to assess the effectiveness and limitations to the end of visualizing an hypothesis of the original colour (on the digital reconstruction).

Using 3D Computer Graphic techniques as a bridge between archaeological data and scientific analyses results, we achieved a better knowledge of the original polychromy of Roman sarcophagi made in Rome (II - IV cent. AD). Therefore, we identified the pigments most used and the techniques of their application and that of the gold leaf; additionally we are observed recurring paradigms and several pictorial styles and, finally, a first case of re-painting in antiquity.

This research further produced a first and standardized catalogue of 80 Roman polychrome sarcophagi, and it optimized the Ministerial system enabling the documentation and the management of standardized archaeological and scientific information about the ancient polychromy in the Cultural Heritage.

This work was the result of a five-year agreement between the University of Pisa, the Vatican Museums and the Superintendent BAPSAE of Pisa and Livorno (signed by Faedo L., Pasqua Recchia A. and Paolucci A.).

Special permits were obtained from the Superintendent of Archaeological Heritage of Rome – National Roman Museum (Friggeri R. and Paris R.) and the Capitoline Museums (Presicce A.).

For the analyses we collaborated with the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Pisa (Gratziu C.), the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Pisa (Bartaglini A.), the ICCOM – CNR in Pisa (Palleschi V.) and the Department of Restoration at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (Burgio L).

The creation of the high quality 3D model and the testing of open source tools for the virtual reconstruction of the ancient colour were made possible by the support of the VCG Lab ISTI-CNR (Scopigno R.) and the ArTeSalVa project at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa (Settis S.).

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