THE DECAY OF NANTO STONE IN AN OUTDOOR-SHELTERED ENVIRONMENT IN THE CLOISTER OF SAINT ANTHONY BASILICA IN PADOVA

The present work aims to define the type and extent of deterioration in the funerarymonument to Giovanni Calfurnio (1443-1503), a valuable Renaissance artwork ofAntonio Minello. The monument is made of Nanto stone, a soft yellow-brown stone,often used locally for its aesthetic qualities and easy working. In order to planurgent restoration work, characterisation of the stone and decay products, bymeans of classic mineralogic-petrographic and chemical methods was carriedout. Since its realization until 1871 it stayed inside a church, and successivelyit was moved to the Novitiates. Cloister of St. Anthony`s Basilica in Padova where,according to detailed photographic documentation, collected since 1900 up totoday, stone decaywas considerably increased over the past fewdecades. Physicalparameters such as relative humidity, temperature, wind as well as sulphur dioxidepollution are mainly responsible of the rapid decay observed in the last fourdecades of the last century.