THE DISCOVERY OF “MAROUFLAGE” ON DECORATED STRUCTURAL TIMBER IN A VILLA OF THE XV CENTURY

A restoration project on the ancient Villa Rucellai in Quaracchi, Florence (XV century, project attributed to Leon Battista Alberti), kicked off the on-site inspection of the wooden structures, as basic way for the assessment of historical timber buildings. During the inspection of the two-trusses timber roof, some significant remains of pictorial decorations were found and, on many surfaces of the timber elements, some fragments of fabric were discovered. In front of these facts, by means of a multidisciplinary approach, the trusses were deeply investigated according to the following examinations: image analysis to recognise all the surfaces covered by textile materials; 14C dating on fabric and wood, in particular applying wiggle-matching for the latter material; microscopic analysis to identify the textile fibers and the wooden species. The results of the analyses, combined with the relevant information obtained by the on-site technological inspection, confirmed historical information on the Villa and proved the use of mercerised flax fibers, derived from pre-existing fabric artefacts, far older than decoration; in addition, it showed the widespread application of fabrics made of linen, to smooth the wood surfaces for painting, allowing us to establish the first case of "marouflage" ("incamottatura") applied on structural timber elements.