Indoor Air Quality in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence: sampling methodology and preliminary results

In museums, indoor air quality plays a fundamental role in the visitors and staff well-being as well as in the deterioration processes of the exhibit objects. Due to some complaints dealing with poor air quality conditions reported by the occupants, a preliminary survey in some rooms of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence was carried out. To assess indoor temperature, relative humidity, chemical and microbiological pollutants in the museum, a methodology of investigation and evaluation of the results was defined and applied to several rooms of the Gallery. The survey aim is to underline the presence of critical issues in order to determine the pollutant concentration and compare the sampled values with the limits reported in Italian standards, technical regulation and guidelines. The preliminary results can be used to plan a deepen investigation with a more detailed sampling of specific pollutants. In this paper the results regarding a representative room are shown and discussed.