Chinese-Italian nanotechnology research helps preserve stone and repair historic Church of the Scalzi in Venice: paper

Name: Chinese visitors flock back to Italy since easing of Covid restrictions
Uploaded: 2023-08-23T08:00:14.000Z
Duration: 1 min 46 s
Description: Chinese visitors flock back to Italy since easing of Covid restrictions

Research team studies nine different ways to consolidate marble stones with patented combination of methods used in church restoration project

Rome’s plan to quit Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative will not affect the collaboration, scientist says

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The Church of Santa Maria di Nazareth is the beneficiary of a method developed by Chinese and Italian researchers to treat marble stones damaged by time and the elements. Photo: Shutterstock

Echo Xie

Published: 4:00pm, 23 Aug 2023

A team of Chinese and Italian researchers has restored parts of a 300-year-old Catholic church in Venice, Italy, using modern nanotechnology.

The Church of Santa Maria di Nazareth, which overlooks the Grand Canal and is a prime example of Venetian Baroque architecture, is the beneficiary of a patented method developed to consolidate, or treat, marble stones damaged by time and the elements.

The research was funded by the Veneto regional government, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Ministry of Science and Technology’s belt and road foreign expert exchange programme.

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Chinese visitors flock back to Italy since easing of Covid restrictions

The cutting-edge method could be used to restore landmarks of world-class cultural heritage – including the Pantheon, Trajan’s Column and the Victoria Memorial in London as well as historic sculptures – made from marble similar to the church.