Here, we aim at characterizing the micro-structural and compositional effects of hardening and annealing on binary and leaded bronzes under different operative conditions. The main goal is to investigate the archaeometallurgical problems of the composition and working procedures used in ancient times. In particular, we try to explain whether the alloy compositions for parts of artefacts to be processed through hardening and annealing sequences were intentionally selected and, if so, with which criteria. Measurements will be carried out on prepared and genuine Picenan samples