The “Sant’Angelo in Criptis” Cave Church in Santeramo in Colle (Apulia, South Italy): A Multidisciplinary Study for the Evaluation of Conservation State and Stability Assessment

Anna Garavelli,Daniela Pinto,Gioacchino Francesco Andriani,Giovanna Fioretti,Vincenzo Iurilli,Antonella Marsico

doi:10.3390/geosciences11090382

Anna Garavelli, Daniela Pinto + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11090382

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Abstract

Sant’Angelo in Criptis (Santeramo in Puglia, South Italy) is a karst cave located in the Alta Murgia National Park (aspiring geopark), presently degraded, but with signs of intense past visiting activity for worship, as testified by the beautiful wall paintings and the large number of inscriptions and engravings on the cave walls. With the aim to permit the desirable restoration and the following fruition of this ancient geo-cultural heritage, a multidisciplinary investigation of the cave was carried out in this study. The 3D cave model permitted a detailed map of the area and highlighted that the cave vault, although very regular, somewhere presents chimneys that develop upwards, indicating areas where the rock thickness is now very small. The stability analysis indicates that presently, the cave does not show remarkable signs of instability, but block failures, toppling and roof collapse are possible. Archaeometry investigations confirmed the past importance of this holy site, as testified by the overlapping in the paintings of three different pictorial cycles and the use of precious pigments, thus confirming the necessity of preservation through a conservation management strategy for a full future fruition of the cave.

Highlights

The karstic nature of the Apulia landscape and the history of this part of southern Italy are testified by a lot of sites in which these features meet up
Modeling of the site and archaeometry investigations on the paintings therein, represents an integrated investigation methodology applied to the study of cultural heritage aiming at contributing to the protection and promotion of the site as a sustainable tourism resource
The detailed geomorphological study performed pointed out the morphological setting and processes that involve the cave and provided significant updates for the fruition and for the conservation of the cultural heritage site

Summary

Introduction

The karstic nature of the Apulia landscape and the history of this part of southern Italy are testified by a lot of sites in which these features meet up. Since the pre-Christian age, numerous caves in the Apulian region were used as places of worship, later becoming churches or small sanctuaries [1,2]. The cave churches have been becoming milestones in landscape management, so local authorities aim to preserve them in order to maintain both the local tradition and environment. The archaeometry studies of these artworks can provide precious information for understanding their history and to arrange preservation, as other studies on paintings in different Apulian artistic and archaeological contexts (for example: [6,7,8,9,10,11])

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