Restoration of “Palazzo della Carovana”, Pisa

Public projects

Designer: ND

Realised in: 2014

Employed material: White Carrara marble

Description: The intervention has regarded the external staircase of the palace, a building of great historical and architectural importance, designed by the architect Giorgio Vasari and main seat of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa from the second half of the 19th century onwards.
The project was carried out together with the Superintendency of Fine Arts and – being many steps irremediably damaged – it was aimed above all at the identification of the quarry from where the original marble came and at the consequent selection of blocks with veining and characteristics similar to those of the elements which had to be replaced.
Moreover there was the restriction of the steps’ dimensions – they are more than 3 metres wide – so that a large block was needed. Once the research phase was over, with the selectioned material were realised huge monolithic steps, more than 3 metres wide and 10 cm thick: the front of the riser is shaped and the lower part is lightened to make the installation easier. After the installation a nonskid bush-hammering has been done, similar to that of the original steps.

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