Vol. 82 No. 1 (2013): (Special Issue) Mineralogical Applications on Environments, Archaeometry and Cultural Heritage

                              Foreword

The idea of this special issue was born in the occasion of the first “European Mineralogical Conference” - EMC 2012, held at Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2-6 September 2012. In the wide and heterogeneous Conference program, two specific sessions were focused on mineralogical applications: “Applied mineralogy” and “Archaeometry, care and preservation” with sub-sessions dedicated to health problematics (Medical and Environmental Mineralogy) and archaeometric studies (Mineralogical Sciences and Cultural Heritage). Additionally, the Italian research on the applications of Mineralogy have been recently funded within a Research Projects of National Interest (PRIN 2010-2011), under the project entitled “Minerals-biosphere interaction: environmental and health consequences” (national responsible Gilberto Artioli, Padova University).The articles published in the present special issue deal, therefore, with the arguments above reported; most of the papers were scientific contributions to the EMC 2012, others have been submitted by participants of the PRIN 2010-2011 grant, whereas others were simply free submissions.In the last years, Periodico di Mineralogia enlarged it field of interest targeting to articles dealing to applications on Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry, and specific topics on Environments, Archaeometry and Cultural Heritage. This journal will be also in future a reference medium where to publish the results of other applied mineralogists, petrologists and geochemists with different expertises and interests, as well as results dealing with basic research activity.

Antonio GIANFAGNA, Chief Editor
Giovanni Battista ANDREOZZI, Michele LUSTRINO, Editor Assistants