Ground Penetrating Radar Survey of the Floor of the Accademia Gallery (Florence, Italy)

• Main Authors: Lapo Miccinesi, Alessandra Beni, Silvia Monchetti, Michele Betti, Claudio Borri, Massimiliano Pieraccini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Remote Sensing
• Subjects: ground penetrating radar; survey; cultural heritage; Michelangelo’s David; Accademia Gallery
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/7/1273

This paper reports the results of a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the ground-floor of Academia Gallery (Florence, Italy) where the Michelangelo’s David is exhibited to the public. The equipment used was a step-frequency GPR operating in the 100 MHz-1 GHz band, named ORFEUS. The survey covered an area of 13 m × 7.3 m, and the scans were performed along two orthogonal directions. Acquisitions in the same direction were separated by 0.25 m from each other. The GPR was able to confirm the underground structure, as it can be deducted by planimetry and historical documentation. In particular, the radar clearly detected the air-conditioning ducts under the floor and an approximately circular foundation below the basement of the statue.