Anastylosis of ancient monuments in Sicily. Sustainability of a new procedure for the anastylosis of the so-called archaic fountain of Agrigento

This paper proposes a theoretical consideration about the preservation of the image of the monuments of the Greek age in Agrigento, forced by modern restorations to irreversible degradation processes, starting from a comparison with similar cases already resolved and operated on the acropolis of Lindos in Rhodes (Greece). Today the conservation status of ancient architecture in Sicily – as for the well-known temples of Selinunte and the temple of Apollo in Syracuse –in addition to environmental factors, is mainly due to the use of certain techniques and materials incompatible with the construction techniques and the materials of antiquity. Reinforced concrete, metal bars end epoxy resins, used in the restoration of the last century and still in use today, they continue to threaten the conservation of the local soft limestone, heavily affecting the original image of the monuments. Similar phenomena have affected the architecture of the Acropolis of Lindos (Rhodes), made of poros, a material that has characteristics very similar to the limestone of Agrigento used in the constructions of Greek period. Since 1996, the Temple of Athena and the Hellenistic stoa in Lindos were subjected to significant de-restoration operations, aimed at cleaning up the reinforced concrete additions introduced by the restoration of the ‘30s. The new interventions, performed in the attempt to preserve the image of the majestic monumental complex and in accordance with the recent guidelines introduced by the experience of the restoration of the Acropolis of Athens, they are characterized by a inevitable high percentage of integrations due to the massive loss of original material, determined by the same removal operations.