Plasters and mortars in the central building of the university of pavia : Thermal and structural study

Plasters and mortars taken from the walls of the ancient hospital `San Matteo' of Pavia (Italy), were investigated with thermal and other techniques. From the data collected, two groups of materials were brought out: the first one, containing the plasters, is remarkably richer in calcite than the second group, formed by the mortars. These findings allow one to relate these groups to two historical periods: the middle of the XV century, and the end of the XVIII century. Some hypotheses may also be made on the compositions of the binding/inert fractions adopted in preparing these materials in the building yards of the two periods.