Restauro della facciata brunelleschiana e dei cortili degli uomini e delle donne dell'Istituto degli Innocenti di Firenze

The essay presents the project and the results of the restoration works on the stone elements and decorated surfaces of the façade and the two courtyards of the Istituto degli Innocenti in Florence. The building, having at length been subjected to atmospheric agents and acts of vandalism and having been interested by some interventions in the past centuries, showed an accentuated degradation. Yet, from the planning of the intervention, the work group recommended the use of the laser: therefore, an accurate methodology has been determined in order to optimize the timing, the procedures and the results of the intervention. First, a cleaning with traditional tools (chemical and mechanical) has been undertaken on the most compact areas; then, the Laser technique has been used on the most decayed and delicate portions, with black crusts and heavy degradation, employing two different Q-switch wavelengths - A) 1064 nm and B) 532 nm - and diversifying the energy, the frequency and the spot diameter relating to the typology of surfaces and their alterations.