respect the intrinsic value of the works, experimental studies were developed to have a more complete awareness of the materials, thus guaranteeing the realization of a coherent intervention, even when using innovative materials.  
The conservation and sustainable fruition of cultural assets must be based on evaluating physical, chemical, and biological factors that accelerate the deterioration process [4; 5; 6; 7]. Concerning biological wood, decay, bacteria, fungi, and insects represent a threat to the conservation, acting by bioactive agents (such as enzymes), and hydrolysing the chemical constituents of wood (cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin). Moreover, several other biological systems can use wood as a supportive substrate where nutrient molecules (carbohydrates and proteins) can easily be found. Although different degradation steps can be distinguished in relation to woody plant species and preservation strategies, a relevant role is played by temperature, relative humidity, and lighting, particularly in indoor environments, such as museums, libraries, and archives [8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15]. Environmental conditions are closely related to microbial colonization and insect infestation. Insect larvae utilize wood as a source of food and fungi such as _Alternaria_, _Aspergillus_, _Botrytis_, _Caldosporium_, _Fusarium_, and _Penicillium_, have a deteriorative effect due to their metabolic activities. The wood decay process can also be related to bacteria of the genera _Bacillus_, _Microoccus_, and _Streptomyces_. Moreover, even if bacterial and fungal species are not directly involved in wood deterioration, they can play the role of \"first colonizer\", facilitating the spreading of wood decay microorganisms (ecological niche succession) [16; 17; 18; 19; 20]. To counteract microbial colonization, a biocidal treatment is generally applied.  
Although commercial synthetic biocodes are easy to apply and are effective against a wide range of microorganisms, they do not have a single biological target, and can induce several negative side effects such as persistent residues in the environment, which are detrimental to human health. The use of commercial biocodes has been taking place for many years, but there is still no detailed information on their effect over time on both historical-artistic artifacts, human health, and the environment [21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26].  
Plant antimicrobial extracts generally correspond to hydro-alcoholic or essential oil solutions, these are mainly used in food, pharmaceutical and medical industries since they have a marked activity against bacteria and fungi [27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32]. They have recently been utilized  
Figure 1: The Sogo Bó theatre wooden sculpture (B731) from the International Puppet Museum, Palermo, Italy: (**a**) recto; (**b**) verso. The largest central sculpture is 64.5 cm in height and 25.0 cm in width; the two small ones on the sides are 20.0 cm in height and 12.0 cm in width.  
in the conservation of cultural heritage [33; 34; 35; 36; 37], where bioactive molecules were isolated from marine organisms [38] to replace synthetic biocides.  
In our previous studies, _Thymus vulgaris_ L. (Lamiaceae family) essential oil was proposed as an alternative to commercial biocides [39; 40; 41; 42]. In this work, the application of hydro-alcoholic solutions (HA) was combined with exposure to essential oil (EO) volatile compounds. Specifically, _T. vulgaris_ HA and EO solutions were utilized to counteract microbial colonization, spread over the surface of a kapok wood (_Ceiba pentrada_ [PERSON]. [PERSON]) sculpture (Sogo Bo theatre, Mali, Africa, artifact B731).