Proceedings e report - Firenze University Press

WOOD SCIENCE FOR CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE
structure of the huge baroque wooden altar, an aesthetic and scientific occasion not easy to be
forgotten.
Main objectives and results
The main objectives of the Conference can be summarized as follows.
a) To present a “state of the art” about selected subjects dealt with by the Action:
b) To improve mutual knowledge and acquaintance between MC Members, and WG members.
c) To present current ongoing research, and inform specialists of different fields, all working towards
conservation of WCHOs (Wooden Objects belonging to the Cultural Heritage), about the work of their
Colleagues and the scientific work being conducted in different Institutions.
d) To provide an occasion of discussing interdisciplinary subjects, which are very important for study
and conservation of WCHOs.
e) To identify the main subjects to be carried out in the following activities.
All such objectives have been accomplished at quite satisfactory level, by means of (i) the already
mentioned Parallel sessions, (ii) the Keynote Lectures, (iii) the formal and informal discussions carried
out during sessions and during free time, (iv) the discussions during WG meetings, and (v) the general
discussions session.
Especially meaningful was considered the presence of:
- Researchers from RISH (Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere) Kyoto University
(Japan), and from Scion (New Zealand Forest Research Institute), Institutions from non-COST
Countries, since our MC has voted in favor of their application to participate in our Action.
- Prof. Vasco Fassina, Chairman of CEN Technical Committee 346 “Conservation of Cultural
Property”, Invited Speaker giving a Keynote Lecture on the activities of such Committee after a four
year period, representing the interest of our Action to cooperate in the field of technical
Standardization in the field of Cultural Heritage.
Allocating and refereeing the Papers
For this Workshop, the Steering Committee (see Annex 3) fulfilled the role of Scientific Committee,
preparing and managing its scientific aspects, and organising the refereeing process of the submitted
papers, all of which have been peer-reviewed for this publication.
Emphasis should be given to the fact that all accepted paper were deemed of high scientific calibre and
deserved the same “dignity”, no matter whether they were allocated as Oral presentations or Posters,
such allocation being purely dictated by unescapable time constraints.
Unfortunately some Authors were not able to submit their paper for publication, or did not return a
corrected version as suggested by the referees; the titles and the abstracts of their papers – when
available – have been reported, for the sake of completeness. Others, not being of English mother
tongue, submitted papers with some language inaccuracies; as long as such inaccuracies did not affect
the comprehensibility of the text, the SC decided not to ask for a very strict language editing.
Two authors were not able to attend the conference at the last minute. Their papers, however, were
reviewed like the others and included in these proceedings.
For the purpose of clarity, the classification of the papers was made according to the content of the
papers and does not follow strictly the organisation of the conference. They were grouped into 6 parts:
(A) Material properties
(B) Biodeterioration
(C) Characterization and measurement techniques
(D) Conservation
(E) Structures
(F) Others
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