In the articles on the Euthalia lightning protection systems installed on Castello di Masino and Duomo di Spoleto, as well as other successful case studies, it became clear that the implementation of a preventive lightning protection system is the solution to safeguarding these cultural treasures.

By adopting preventive measures against lightning and surges, we can significantly reduce the risk of damage caused by these phenomena on buildings that are very vulnerable due to certain of their structural characteristics, such as spires and high roofs, construction materials, ornaments, structural dimensions and often isolated position in relation to the rest of the city.

In the absence of adequate protection, lightning strikes and surges can cause serious damage, including fire, structural damage, damage to installations, and the destruction of priceless artefacts. These consequences can generate costly repair or replacement costs or even have permanent effects on the affected cultural heritage.
Not to be underestimated are the situations of danger for the people who frequent these buildings, both for private structures and for public use.

Together, starting with FAI property – Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano ETS, Villa del Balbianello, let’s discover how it is possible today to protect valuable buildings and those who visit them with Euthalia’s active lightning and surge defence systems.

Villa del Balbianello: elegant historic residence on the shores of Lake Como

Villa del Balbianello is a historic building located Tremezzina (Lenno locality), on the shores of Lake Como.
The complex, located on the tip of the wooded peninsula of Lavedo, elegantly overlooks a wide panorama, making it one of the most scenic residences on Lake Como. Cardinal Durini, a man of letters and patron of the arts, chose this corner of Italy at the end of the 18th century as a retreat of delight and literary recreation.

In 1974, Guido Monzino, an entrepreneur, passionate traveller and collector, made the Villa a refuge where he could preserve the memories of an adventurous life that led him, the first Italian, to the summit of Mount Everest. At his death in 1988, the Villa was entrusted to FAI – Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano ETS, which still takes care of it today, preserving the spirit that lives on in the fascinating Expeditions Museum, the Primitive Room, the Library and the amazing garden. A layout that sweeps through daring pruning and romantic views, avenues lined with statues, panoramic terraces and copious blooms, culminating in the 18th-century Loggia that crowns the entire panorama.

Villa del Balbianello MG9324 Foto di Carolina Prieto 2015 © FAI Fondo per lAmbiente Italiano scaled 1

Ensuring safety and preserving historical memories: the lightning and surge protection system built by Euthalia at Villa del Balbianello

The Villa del Balbianello complex, located directly on the shores of Lake Como, is situated on the tip of a promontory formed mainly of metamorphic rocks of the amphibolite family, which have minerals such as quartz, epidote, titanite, biotite and scapolite within them. This type of rock conformation does not possess good conductivity characteristics and, in fact, has a tendency to accumulate the energy loads generated by lightning strikes, without dispersing them in the ground.
Consequently, in the past the Asset has been the target of lightning strikes that have caused structural damage.

To prevent further damage, in 2023 the Foundation chose to replace the traditional lightning rod system present on the structure and install the Euthalia lightning and surge protection system on this Asset as well.

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Euthalia systems: maximum protective effectiveness with minimum visual impact, for the protection of cultural sites from lightning and surges.

In order to protect these valuable historical sites (and any type of building in general) from lightning strikes and surges, it is essential to take a preventive approach that avoids any damage and preserves the value of the structure and the people who visit it. The active approach of Euthalia’s technology makes it an effective and discreet answer to the problem of lightning for cultural heritage. Why?

Unlike traditional lightning rods with a passive approach, which involve attracting the strike and then dissipating the energy of the lightning to ground, seeking only to minimise damage and disregarding the frequent energy returns from the grounding system that could compromise the electrical installations and cause damage inside the structure, the Antimpatto® technology contained in the Euthalia systems works to eliminate the causes that lead to the generation of the lightning and creates a protected area around the building.

Furthermore, the installation of the components within the structure and the possibility of exploiting the parts of the structure capable of collaborating with the protection system allow Euthalia systems to protect any type of building without significantly altering the aesthetics of the structure.

Actively protect your cultural heritage with Euthalia's lightning and surge defence systems.Call +39 0332 280041 and book a free inspection.

Euthalia systems: maximum protective effectiveness with minimum visual impact, for the protection of cultural sites from lightning and surges.

The entire Villa del Balbianello complex consists of five buildings:

Villa corpo Basso
Villa corpo Alto
Loggia Durini
Loggia Segrè
Casa Bosco

An atmospheric lightning protection design was developed for each building, following, in the first instance, the CEI EN 62305 series of technical standards.

Next, we will look at the installation steps of the Euthalia lightning protection system on the Villa corpo Basso building.

The building, whose foundations were built directly into the rock immersed in the lake, consists of two bell towers, each approximately 18 m high, at the respective tops of which there is a metal spike.
Prior to the reconstruction of the lightning protection system, the two spikes were used as traditional ‘lightning capture’ rods. The continuous strikes experienced over the past years, caused by the spike effect characteristic of these elements, caused a dispersion of energy to ground, causing damage to both the structure and the electrical system.
As a result of the damage, it was decided to eliminate the spike effect by completely removing both conductors from the rod that connected to the ground electrodes, and proceeding with a harmonisation by installing Ingelva APS products on the ends of the spikes and remaking both the connection and the down conductors with new 50 mm² FS17gv insulated cable.

The following components of the Euthalia Protection System with Ingelva technology were installed inside the two bell chambers:

Saturno 2 air heads
Prismatic supports with radiators
Air filters SCa 200 kA

The elements were positioned so that they were not visible from the outside, thus preserving the visual and landscape impact.

Subsequently, a down-conductor system was laid between the apex of the church towers, the air heads and the grounding system, which is necessary to achieve the correct continuity to the grounding system.
To reduce the risk of damage, down-conductor systems must be laid in such a way that:

there are several parallel current paths;
the length of the current paths is as short as possible (straight, vertical, no spires);
the connections to the metal bodies of the structure are made at all necessary points.

The connection cable used to make the down conductors has been painted in such a way that its presence is concealed and the visual impact of the protection system is nil (ANNEX E 5341 – In general construction, it is possible or permissible, for aesthetic reasons, to coat the external down conductors with a thin layer of protective paint).

To complete the aerial protection from descending lightning strikes, a TE 30 kA air head and the associated SCa 50 kA air filter were installed inside the roof and then connected to the metal structure of the roof. The upper part of the head, located on top of the roof to meet the protection requirements of the project, was painted terracotta to minimise its visual impact.Protection from descending lightning strikes was achieved through the installation of high-impedance ground filters (SCt) which, placed in series with the ground electrodes of the existing grounding systems, act to protect against interference caused by dangerous potential differences (induced overvoltages) and overfrequencies arising on the power
distribution network.The protection project was completed with the installation of class T1, T2 and T3 overvoltage protection devices (surge protection devices) upstream of the switchboards to protect against direct and indirect overvoltages and overfrequencies, starting from the input of the electricity supply and ending, in cascade, at the management racks of the video surveillance and fire-fighting systems.