As a sea monster, an enormous octopus of the abyss, climbed on the rock in front of Portofino to bask in the sun and admire the scenery, the Castle of Sem Benelli leans dangerously over the sea.
Born of the fertile imagination of Sem Benelli and carried out by his favorite designer, Giuseppe Mancini, in the early 900.
Colossus of stone and bricks, over time revealed its weaknesses by allowing rain to penetrate into the interstices between stone and stone, creeping behind the hoods and filtering under the bricks of the crowns .
Infinite length of the joints of the foot to protect, countless bricks to rebuild.
What other way to proceed if you do not "remove" ideally, piece by piece, to assess the status, and reassemble it, after the restauration, along with thousands of others .
So the project has been set, identifying the 'parts' of this sculpture and intervening in each area with the appropriate techniques of restoration and consolidation.
The first approach started in July 2001 with a survey campaign has allowed the identification of the first information and highlighted the need to create a "pilot site" that would allow, through analysis and local experiments to identify the techniques to be applied on the entire final body of the building .
Choosing the east tower for the position of easy access we proceeded to the restoration experimenting with techniques in 2002.
The main site was launched in early 2003 and completed in 2004.
The main techniques adopted :
Restoration of all joints in mortar between the stones of the facing with natural lime enriched with inert dark .
Reconstruction of bricks consumed with remodeling and integration of the missing parts .
Re-roofing in terracotta with the restoration of wooden structures to support the inclusion of protective sleeves and below the lead plates shaped points of contact with the stone masonry.
Restoration and protection of the parties marble, stone, marble and slate .
Reconstruction of copper and converse in the system of removal of rainwater.
Restoration and protection of brick sills, slate etc. .
Restoration terracotta elements : chimneys, gargoyles, nails etc. .
Consolidations local diaphragms at the bottom of high-strength, rotating holes for rivets stainless steel, assembly and disassembly of each stone.