Verso la ricerca multidisciplinare finalizzata alla conservazione preventiva: il contributo di tre entomologhe.

In recent years, the protection of cultural heritage is trying to change course, even in Italy, where a new approach based on preventive conservation is establishing. Recently, the ICOM-CC (2008) defines this concept as actions to prevent and minimize every aspect of cultural property future deterioration. Preventive conservation is based on the idea of non-intervention and turns out to be a major change of mindset that brings up also a different use of funds, particularly important in a period in which financial resources are very limited. A preventive conservation program begins with an assessment of the impact of the agents of deterioration on various collections and is followed by a pondered plan to mitigate these effects. It includes many different areas; among them, the degradation caused by biodeteriogens agents (insects, fungi, or bacteria) is of particular importance. In a preventive conservation plan, pests are seen as elements that can be monitored in various ways, and for which, it is possible to put in place measures to avoid damage or at least reduce it. As properties (or better collections) to be protected are stored in environments that have different characteristics, to find the necessary skills to manage all risks in a single professional figure is virtually impossible. Therefore, the need to work in equip with different specialists who contribute to implement effective and efficient preventive conservation strategy, becomes crucial. The biologist has the competence to deal with pests. Even in legislation, the importance of this specialist is recognized, but in reality the problem of biodeteriogens is often neglected and the importance of the skills of a biologist is not taken into account. This paper discusses the contribution that biologists can provide, in terms of basic and applied research, as well as practical work.