The topic of on site diagnostics for historical monumental and vernacular architecture is
characterized by a twofold difficulty partially due to a sort of hiatus between the scientific
community and a professional system. In fact on one side universities and research centres
produce advanced technologies methodologies and procedures but they are not always adequately
disseminated among professionals and are sometimes inconsistent with some relevant criteria
such as feasibility and cost-effectiveness. On the other side professionals in the field of
on site diagnostics for historical architectures are holding a heritage made of experiences
and practice which often is not enough shared and sometimes is contrasting with the limited
possibilities to evaluate and verify the professional training and certification system which
seems too heterogeneous if compared to other high scientific and technical professions as is
the case for example in medicine or engineering. In this book the diagnostic experiences are
described though for logistical reasons often briefly following a systematic methodological
approach according to three of the main steps for the knowledge of historical buildings:
anamnesis diagnosis and prognosis obviously with particular attention to the specifically
diagnostic issues (diagnosis) but framed in the preliminary diagnostic plan and interpreted in
the light of the performance prefigured in the preliminary stages and connected to the visual
inspection. That is why this book regards not only some experimental unconventional and
innovative diagnostic surveys and diagnostic experiences carried out on particularly valuable
monumental buildings under the historical-architectural point of view but also ordinary and
simple experiences in the field of professional diagnostic practice where however it was
possible to apply the methodology and the know-how acquired and systematized in the
performance of the experimental diagnostic surveys often included in wider scientific research
projects. This book is not exclusively addressing the scientific and academic community but it
also pursues the aim of disseminating in the professional system a heritage of rather varied
experimental researches and practical experiences but methodologically oriented toward a
culture which considers the design of diagnostic plans as a regulation criterion for quality
control of professionals.
