The importance of being little: MA‐XRF on manuscripts on a Venetian island

The X‐Ray Fluorescence (XRF) scanning spectrometer developed in the framework of Cultural Heritage Network ‐ National Institute of Nuclear Physics, is designed for cultural heritage applications, designed with a focus on having a lightweight scanner (weighing approximately 10 kg), easy to handle and thus easily transportable in two medium‐sized boxes. The research presented here deals with the study of a set of choir books preserved in the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore on the homonymous island in Venice. Thanks to its easy transportability, it was possible to take the scanner to the small island by means of the water‐based Venetian public transport. Selected results are presented, derived from the high‐quality MA‐XRF maps obtained.