Alteration behaviour of glass panes from the medieval Pavia Charterhouse (Italy)

The stained glass windows of the Pavia Carthusian Monastery are an important testimony of medieval glass making in which a wood-ash flushing component was used. Glass surfaces reveal alteration processes extending to depth, with evidence of microbial corrosion. Electron microprobe analyses coupled with EDS data allow the identification of different steps in the alteration process. Microbial attack occurs in an early stage and determines component leaching of the glass, with the development of reactions in which the crystallisation of gypsum is favoured. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.