The relation between use and safeguarding: the case study of the Portico of Glory

Abstract

Nowadays, when talking about the cultural Heritage, the dilemma "use vs. conservation" includes complex issues, which consider the several interests of the museum sector: as the need to guarantee a healthy indoor microclimate for visitors, but first of all an adequate microclimate for the preventive conservation of the building and the artifacts hosted inside it. Nevertheless, the so-called "optimal" parameters for fulfilling these three needs do not always coincide. A factor affecting fluctuations in the main microclimate variables - such as relative humidity and air temperature - is the presence of visitors and occupants. Indeed, this contribution shows the correlations between microclimatic varia- tions caused by visitor access and their possible impact on the conservation of the polychrome stones that characterise the Portico of Glory, the narthex of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.