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building, triggering off the deterioration mechanisms which caused the plaster of the intrados to collapse, modified its original and elegant architectural lines. Furthermore, the oxidation of the metal parts damaged the wall structure as well as the waterproof layers coating it, thus favouring humidity seepage and accelerating the deterioration of the internal plaster. This latter, as already mentioned, appeared almost totally detached from the wall and damaged in various points. The tear tests carried out on some portions of it highlighted a high risk of detachment due to a scarce adhesion to the support. Even more severe problems were detected in the state of the plaster of the main dome’s tambour, badly damaged in various points. The decorations (rose windows, beads, protruding sculptures, etc) in the intrados of the vaults and domes, besides presenting a considerable “levelling” of the figurative details caused by the overlapping of many coats of repainting, were damaged and made unstable due to oxidised metal anchors. In some cases large sections were missing. The Church’s technical systems were found to be totally obsolete and not in line with the latest safety standards. The external lighting system was totally neglected, with exposed electric wires. The parish couldn’t therefore avoid urgent and important, though expensive, restoration interventions, trying to leave the Church open to the community of believers, at least on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The restoration project was conceived on the basis of what emerged from the surveys with the approval of the Superintendency of Naples. Moreover, thanks to the support of an illuminating engineer, the project related to the technical system was also created and approved. The studies carried out made it possible to define the guidelines of the restoration project, which had a clearly conservative stamp aimed at keeping and recovering those original materials that, not soaked with seepage water, still had good performance characteristics and even the original colours, now completely hidden, on the shades of white and yellow ochre. This is how, for example, micrometric thin pictorial layers were discovered on the small dome of the main lantern, highlighting the presence of thin grey- black decorations on a yellow ochre ground.
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