Methodological Approaches to the Study of Stone Alteration Caused by Cyanobacterial Biofilms in Hypogean Environments

The synergistic action of physicochemical and biological agents causes severe deterioration problems on stone surfaces in hypogean archaeological sites. Methods presently applied to investigate the structural and ecophysiological features of phototrophic microbial communities that develop in proximity to lamps will allow us to understand the damage mechanism and to set up control and prevention strategies to limit the growth of cyanobacteria-dominated biofilms.