Historical pharmacies are valuable artistic, cultural, and scientific assets. In Italy, 482 historical pharmacies have been catalogued thus far, among which is the Navarra-Bragliani Pharmacy in Ferrara, whose wood furniture dates back to the 18th century. A study on insects causing biodeterioration was carried out for the first time on this valuable asset in order to monitor and preserve it. Insect samples were collected during surveys and examined by stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, using taxonomical keys for identification. The results revealed the presence of three species of Coleoptera—the first one specialised to attack wood materials, the second one polyphagous, and the third one feeding on materials of animal origin. The data obtained in this investigation may be useful for the preservation of the precious furnishing of the historical Navarra- Bragliani Pharmacy for performing similar studies on other ancient pharmacies aimed to protect these valuable cultural and scientific assets.

Analysis of insect pests in an 18th-century historical pharmacy: A case study in Ferrara

Bonacci Teresa;
2021-01-01

Abstract

Historical pharmacies are valuable artistic, cultural, and scientific assets. In Italy, 482 historical pharmacies have been catalogued thus far, among which is the Navarra-Bragliani Pharmacy in Ferrara, whose wood furniture dates back to the 18th century. A study on insects causing biodeterioration was carried out for the first time on this valuable asset in order to monitor and preserve it. Insect samples were collected during surveys and examined by stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, using taxonomical keys for identification. The results revealed the presence of three species of Coleoptera—the first one specialised to attack wood materials, the second one polyphagous, and the third one feeding on materials of animal origin. The data obtained in this investigation may be useful for the preservation of the precious furnishing of the historical Navarra- Bragliani Pharmacy for performing similar studies on other ancient pharmacies aimed to protect these valuable cultural and scientific assets.
2021
biodeterioration; drugstore beetle; equipment; furniture; historical pharmacy; powderpost beetle; varied carpet beetle
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11770/326107
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 1
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 0
social impact