Special Issue: Results of the II National Research Project of AIAr: Archaeometric Study of the Frescoes by Saturnino Gatti and Workshop at the Church of San Panfilo in Tornimparte (AQ, Italy)

The archaeometric study of the frescoes by the painter Saturnino Gatti (1463–1518) in the apse of the Church of San Panfilo in Villagrande di Tornimparte (L’Aquila) was the subject of the II National Research Project [1] conducted by members of the Italian Association of Archaeometry (AIAr). The research activities were carried out as part of a scientific agreement of the AIAr, signed in 2020 by the Abruzzo Regional Secretariat of the Ministry for Culture and Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of L’Aquila and Teramo. Several non-destructive in situ investigations and laboratory analyses on micro-fragments sampled from the different levels of the pictorial cycle were carried out thanks to the co-working of 21 Research Groups, with more than 60 AIAr researchers involved in the different stages of scientific studies of pictorial materials and of the environmental conditions in which the frescoes are now preserved. The present Special Issue is an important opportunity to illustrate for the first time the results of the pre-restoration diagnostic study. The research project for the archaeometric study of the cycle of frescoes by the painter Saturnino Gatti (Figure 1) was carried out through the application of analytical methodologies made available by the Research Groups as members of the AIAr. The technical–scientific study of the pictorial cycle at the church of San Panfilo was aimed at providing useful indications both from a purely cognitive point of view, as a deepening of the artistic technique of the painter and his collaborators, and from a conservative point of view. In fact, the knowledge of the materials and the evaluation of the state of conservation are essential to supporting and guiding the methodological approach for the future planning of restoration works of the frescoes, helping to guarantee the principles of sustainability, durability and compatibility of the materials on which a correct conservative approach is based.