Technologies for Architectural Restoration Works in Eighteenth Century Rome: The Birth of the Modern Scaffolding Practice

In 17th and 18th century Rome, building site technology depended on a consolidated empiricism rather than on formalized cognitive processes. Technologies inherited from the Imperial Rome continued to prevail, renewed by the experience of the greatest Renaissance and Baroque architects, and, above all, by of the colossal building site of the new St. Peter’s. Starting from the second half of 17th century, the design of restoration scaffolding became indispensable for the conservation of the Vatican Basilica and its precious decorations, as well as for the conservation of the Pantheon, the Basilica of St. John in Lateran, and for other important monuments’ maintenance, in Italy but also in some European nations. However, the development of scaffolding went almost unnoticed by the principal treatises on architecture, nor did it even find its way into technical handbooks. There are just a few exceptions in the contemporary literature on artistic techniques in 18th century. These works fit into the general context of the lavishly illustrated machine books, which had flourished during the 16th and 17th centuries, a genre, which gradually ended in the early 18th century, due to the changing attitude towards technology. This paper clarifies the origins and the gradual improvement of scaffolding for restoration, indispensable for the maintenance of the architectural heritage. The scaffoldings designed in the early 18th century and their progressive improvement are analyzed. Among them, scaffolds used for the restoration of the domes of St. Peter's and the Pantheon assumed model authority in Italian and European restoration practice, and was celebrated in European carpentry manuals until the early twentieth century.