Five investigations before the site opens

Every conservation restoration begins with a question: what is the building made of, and what condition is it really in? To answer it, before opening the site RIVA carries out a diagnostic campaign structured in five investigations, each with a precise task. Together they produce an objective picture of the state of conservation, from which the project of intervention follows.

Materials and colours

Laboratory tests cover every scientific analysis of materials and surfaces, including observation under the electron microscope. A portable spectrophotometer also makes it possible to identify and catalogue colours directly on site, a measurable record that accompanies the work from diagnosis to handover.

Stratigraphic examinations read the layers of plaster and colour superimposed over time: earlier colour schemes, consolidants applied in past interventions, preparatory phases. It is how the sequence of transformations of a façade or an interior is recognised, and how the phase to be restored is agreed with the Superintendency.

Micro-coring, carried out by the firm’s restorers, takes small samples of the building and pointing materials to examine their composition. The aim is to choose mortars and adhesives compatible with the existing fabric: new-generation products do not always bond chemically with ancient surfaces, sometimes only mechanically, and a wrong choice shortens the life of the restoration.

Seeing without touching

Thermography locates layers of plaster or stone that are detaching, and other pathologies invisible to the naked eye such as moisture infiltration. A thermographic survey carried out in time prevents a detachment from becoming a fall.

Finally, a professional drone allows close inspection of façades, roofs and decorative elements without erecting temporary works: a fast and complete survey that documents the existing state in high definition even before deciding where to place the scaffolding.

A method, not a service

The five investigations are not separate services: they are the steps of a single method, which the firm applies to every building, from the listed palazzo to the village church. The result is a targeted and documented intervention, which touches only what is necessary and leaves every choice traceable.