Fires, nanotechnologies to preserve the forest and artistic heritage

“The fire emergency continues in the south of the country, in particular in Sicily and Calabria and to be threatened in addition to our forest heritage, there is also the artistic-cultural one in some villages, with the possibility that in a short time decades of history will be deleted. For our part, we have developed a new nanotechnological formulation, which partially manages to preserve buildings from the effects of fires and could be applied to protect cultural and artistic, environmental or strategic assets in these cases such as prefectures, barracks or municipalities “. To say it in a note Sabrina Zuccalà, president of the nanotechnology laboratory “4ward360 nanotechnology”, who adds: “Of course, nanomaterials can only provide greater protection of assets compared to the use of traditional products and in the case of immediate intervention by the teams fire protection, but in the case of large-scale fires, each application cannot be conclusive. However, the use of these technologies, in addition to mitigating the effects of deterioration, improves the breathability of the materials, and being able to intervene in a very specific manner on the collagen structure, obtains materials that are as fireproof as possible, according to needs “. “We believe – continues Zuccalà – that in the coming years nanotechnologies will play an increasingly crucial role in the conservation of artistic, historical and cultural heritage, and Italy, which is undoubtedly the country with the greatest presence of these artefacts in the world, should strategically investing in research in this sector, also following the requirements of the European Union and exploiting the funds that will arrive in the coming years. Therefore, it is desirable to include in the strategic document of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan greater investments in the research of nanomaterials for the construction of more durable infrastructural works and to preserve the artistic and environmental assets of the country. An opportunity to redesign the strategies with which Italy intends to successfully face the great global challenges, together with those pressing for our territories. The advancement of knowledge is essential for environmental, economic, cultural and social sustainability. The transformative potential of technological innovation must reach the majority of citizens. For these reasons we will organize programmatic conferences in different parts of Italy, the first of which will be in Venice in September, to clarify what mission our research sector has and how it can contribute to improving the territories, reducing inequalities and promoting social inclusion “.