I mosaici del Foro Italico in Roma (1933-1937): caratteristiche esecutive, tipologie di degrado e interventi di manutenzione e restauro

The sporting campus founded in Rome under the name of Foro Mussolini (today Foro Italico) was extensively decorated with indoor and otdoor mosaics between 1934 and 1937.The School Irene of Spilimbergo, in the North-East Italian region of Friuli, was charged of the largest extension of the decorative work. Its own technique rivoltatura, proved to be far cheaper than the traditional one and apt to achieve good results, comparable to the ones of the direct methodology. Gino Severini, Aneglo Canevari, Giulio Rosso and Achille Capizzano provided the preparatory drawining for the mosaic composition, and masters and students from Spilimbergo elaborated a wide range of technical devices. Our research focused on the mineralogical-petrographical composition of the original and restoration mortars from the Stadio dei Marmi and Viale dell'Impero. The aim was to investigate the reasons of the present decay of the two sites. The analytical data pointed out the hydraulic nature of both original and added mortars. The lack of any compound related to a chemical alteration, may lead to the conclusion that the alteration is mainly mechanical and due to a improper use of the sites.