This paper summarizes the test recommendations for selected non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques as developed by members of the RILEM Technical Committee AST 215 "In situ assessment of structural timber". The recommendations cover visual inspection, moisture content determination, species identification, digital radioscopy, and ground penetrating radar. The paper includes a matrix of common NDT to assess structural timber. The discussion of each technique is intended to provide users with sufficient information to understand the theoretical basis, typical equipment set up, and basic capabilities and limitations

The Structural Concept of the 16th Century Floors of the Ducal Palace in Sabbioneta (Mantua, Italy)

The paper will concerns the design choices agreed between the designers responsible for the structural consolidation and the implementation of safety of the wooden floors of the Ducal Palace in Sabbioneta near Mantova in Italy. The consolidation project and the implementation of safety has been carried out in full compliance with the structural design and materials of existing Renaissance structures with a focus on compatibility, durability, recognizability and reversibility of the process. For the characteristics of these floors and the work done in the design phases, please refer to the contributions of Augelli, Nicola, Petracco, Ronchi [1], to that of Mastropirro [2], to that of Augelli, Bordina, Migliavacca. [3]

The Ducal Palace in Sabbioneta, commissioned by Vespasiano Gonzaga in the end of 16th century, keeps four precious wooden ceilings inside. Rough wooden planks nailed to a skeleton structure creates the support for fine wood decorative elements. The requirement of a conservation work has prompted a diagnosis phase about the ceilings as a whole. This was carried out by closed up observations, drilling tests and laboratory analysis.

The aim of this paper is to present the results of research undertaken on a wooden box that holds an important historical book: a hand Bible handwritten in the thirteenth century. Tradition connects this Bible to the name of Marco Polo (Venice, 1254–1324), who was supposedly the owner—the book possibly accompanied him on his travels (1262 and 1271) to China. The Bible is of fine workmanship and written on thin parchment, and its container—along with a yellow silk cloth—are preserved in the ancient and prestigious Laurentian Library in Florence. The manuscript was in very poor condition and was being restored during the period of study (2011). Surveys were carried out to determine the place and period of manufacture of the box, and to determine if it was contemporary to or later than the manuscript it contained or whether it was made in China or Europe. An additional aim of the work was to demonstrate that a fast and inexpensive in situ survey under imperfect time and space conditions was possible using in-depth observation and simple tools as well as a portable microscope, all performed without sampling. During the restoration process, a team of experts used instruments helpful in determining the chemical composition of the paper and related ink. Other specialists studied the paleography of the text. The results indicate that the Bible is definitely from the same period as Marco Polo. Nothing excludes the possibility that Marco Polo may have seen it or lived not too far from this manuscript, which traveled in a small wooden box, wrapped in a precious yellow silk cloth.

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