Malatestiana Library in Cesena, Italy

Abstract

This chapter debates the first of the case studies: the indoor microclimate of a heritage building, the Malatestiana Library in Cesena. This building is particularly important as it represents a “unicum architettonico” (unique architectonic piece); since the year of its construction until today it did not change in the architectonic or technological configuration nor in the usage or contained heritage. It is almost a time capsule, survived until today with an indoor microclimate which is comparable to that of past times, excluding climate changes outside the building. And this is even more relevant considering that the role of this building is that of a library, where books require a specific range of microclimatic parameters for their conservation. Thanks to these analyses of microclimate, it has been possible to explain the peculiarities of the architectonic cross section of the building, which is perfect to guarantee an adequate indoor microclimate to preserve the books conserved there. The Malatestiana Library hence constitutes an interesting object to study, and part of this research has been described in journals and conferences