Gas-Lighting in Italy during 1800s

After an overview on the diffusion of the gas-light system through Italy, the paper focuses on Mantua, a typical middle town with a great urban and construction history as it was the Renaissance Capital of the Gonzaga dukedom.The story of the gas system in Mantua has been reconstructed with the instruments of the archive research while particular attention is for the gas-light plant realized since 1864 to 1886 for the Alberti's S. Andrew Basilica, where many rests (e.g. lamps, pipes) are still visible. This gad-light plant is a great example to analyze the way an eighteenth century industrial device had been installed (often with many difficulties) over the fragile monumental structure of such a building, determining a sudden modification in the perception of the great architectonic interior of the Basilica and the decay of its marble floor and frescoes painted walls. Nowadays, the restoration purposes of the Basilica interior, meets the historical value of this gas-light plant which has to be considered as a more recent step in the five-century construction history of the Basilica and, thus, has be preserved itself.