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RESTAURO CONSERVATIVO

Restoration of the monumental staircase by Mauro Codussi of the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista

The static situation of the monumental staircase has been a source of concern since the early years of the twentieth century due to a progressive overhanging of the external walls. These problems, despite the numerous interventions that have taken place over time, had not yet been solved: cracks were evident in the structure of the vault and the central floor with cracks along all the flights of the stairs.

Before proceeding with the consolidation works on the extrados of the central vault of the staircase, the tiles that make up the floor of the landing were numbered, mapped, removed, cleaned, washed and brushed to eliminate the residues of the old bedding mortars. At the end of the consolidation works, the vault was filled again following the historical stratification and its original materials, finally the tiles were repositioned as per the initial mapping.

The video shows the mapping of the slabs of the landing and the unveiling of the extrados of the vault.

 

On the structural side, work was done first by consolidating the foundations and load-bearing walls, then by replacing the tie rods. The vault was restored by consolidating its structure with specific injections and aramid fiber bandages.

Following the consolidation of the central vault, the conservative restoration of the staircase continued with the dismantling of the steps of the ramps, the washing and the removal of incongruous stucco. An ad hoc scaffolding was created for the handling of the Istrian stone steps of the ramps given the enormous weight of the blocks. On the landings in the middle of the ramps, the same operations were carried out as on the central one.