Archaeological metals have rested for hundreds of years in an aggressive environment, suffering significant alterations in their constituent materials with the formation of thick and complex layers of corrosion products. Based on the extensive diagnostic activities of the CCHT, innovative and out-of-the-box solutions for the conservation of archaeological copper-based metals are developed. The designed products will overcome the limitations of the widely used polymeric-based solutions. They will suppress corrosion phenomena and prevent the onset of new ones, without the drawbacks on durability that current approach based on polymers suffers. This will empower conservators with new tools for the preservation of metal assets for future generations.

Due to the complexity of mosaics, restorers face great difficulties to define satisfactory strategies for optimal conservation. Loss of tesserae represents one of the most compelling issues. This phenomenon is caused by climatic variation and further worsened by the presence of capillary water and ambient humidity. We focus in discovering new specific injection mortar formulations in order to improve the adhesion of tesserae and reduce damage induced by water. Knowledge gained by the characterization phases of roman mosaics is fundamental and provides the necessary means to develop new formulations with specific characteristics matching the ones of the original pieces under examination. The great opportunity offered by nanotechnology is necessary to provide the desired properties by adding key functionalities and long-lasting resistance.

Glass is by definition a metastable material and undergoes continuous transformations due to different physical and chemical processes, further enhanced by their peculiar composition and the environmental conditions to which they have been exposed. Considering this peculiarity, the consolidation or preservation treatment must be designed to be effective for each peculiar glass composition, degradation state and conservation conditions. Data-driven innovative formulations with highly enhanced performances compared to state-of-the-art are developed to be 100% compatible with the glass substrate, in opposite to the widely used but poorly working polymeric materials. The recent breakthroughs in nanotechnology provide great advantages and new tools to develop approaches able to dramatically overcome major limitations of current technology.

The frescoes, in particular those from the Roman period preserved in situ, are exposed to the harsh conditions of the outdoor environment and require the development of protective systems, specifically designed for the peculiarities of these artworks. The development of tailor-made protective coatings for Roman frescoes is highly needed as there is a complete absence of specific products for this aim and this issue requires immediate action. As the degradation can be of chemical, physical and biological nature, multi-functional formulations are needed. To achieve this ambitious goal coupled with the highest restoration standards and the absence of toxicity, innovative approaches are developed leveraging on the great advances recently achieved by nanotechnology.

Deterioration of ancient paper is a complex problem for conservation of cultural heritage. Paper is an extremely heterogeneous and delicate material mainly composed by cellulose and its composition strongly depends on the specific production technology. We devote strong effort on the consolidation of this crucial material as the first and crucial step needed for further treatments. Our extensive characterization of paper documents and deterioration processes is the elective starting point to investigate the promising consolidation properties of new formulations. We focus on the great possibilities given by nanostructured cellulose, a promising material that can strongly slow down or halt the deterioration whilst guaranteeing a great combability with the pristine material.