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The antependia, realized in polychrome marbles during the Baroque period in two Christian churches of Apulia (Southern Italy), were on-site petrographically investigated by the naked eye to obtain information regarding the types of used rocks; the precision in the making of the marble tesserae was also assessed. Most of the polychrome marbles recognized were taken from buildings and monuments realized during the Roman imperial period; other marbles quarried during the Baroque period, mainly from Italian geological outcrops, were also identified. The precision in the execution of the tesserae is generally very high and depends not only on the skill of the marble worker but also on the lithotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari (Italy) boasts the presence of a precious and complete nineteenth-century collection of white marbles and colored stones used by the Romans to embellish their buildings and, afterward, reuse in new buildings and artworks for their high symbolic and aesthetic value. This collection, arranged by Francesco and Filippo Belli, consists of 577 samples and a printed inventory and other documents, which allowed to reconstruct the history of the collection. Another collection of 29 marble samples was donated to the museum in 2010 by the Armenise family. Both collections represent a very useful reference tool in provenance studies for marble pieces at the archaeological and artistic sites and for samples of other collections. The systematic organization of these collections and their sharing among scholars, especially through the web network, is clearly essential. The work presented here focuses on the most recent discoveries about Belli's collection, on the results of the identification of Armenise's marbles and stones, and above all, on the actions undertaken in recent years in order to valorize this museum's heritage. Specifically, both collections were reorganized following novel insights about lithotypes and the provenance of each sample, a detailed database including data on each sample was created, and a website reporting information and images of the two collections was built in order to guarantee the correct dissemination of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This present work focuses on the mapping of marbles, decorative patterns and area of the mosaics of the St. Nicola's Basilica in Bari (Italy) by their photogrammetric survey. The extraordinary importance of these mosaics is due to the stylistic uniqueness and the undisputed workmanship and to the employed materials for tesserae. These mosaics include the white and polychrome marbles, used in the Roman age and reused in medieval artistic production, and imitation stones used as substitutes during the past restorations. The digital survey was realised by the photogrammetric reconstruction of mosaics collecting a photo dataset, after the mosaics redrawing by an image processing software and finally implemented it with lithological identification marbles. It allowed to obtain a punctual mapping of materials, through which to identify original areas and restoration areas, decorative patterns, recurring geometries. The research carried out, supported by the photogrammetric reconstruction as established method for high resolution digital reproduction and mapping, not only ensures the conservation and improvement of the enjoyment of the mosaic floors of the St. Nicola's Basilica, but allows to conduct studies on materials, decorative patterns and restoration areas directly on the digitized product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]