This paper presents a methodology for the seismic vulnerability assessment of current buildings, suitable for the study of historical centres at the regional scale. The applicability is demonstrated with reference to four case studies: the historical centre of the city of Foggia (Italy) and three other small towns of this province, for a total of 4519 housing units. Field data were collected by several teams of technicians by means of a survey form, provided in electronic format. The subsequent data processing and drawing of vulnerability maps was performed using GIS. The collected data were used also for the validation of the algorithm, by comparing the results with those of the GNDT methodology, which is widely adopted in Italy. The results of the research study and the application showed some critical points, related to the poor nature of the information collected and to the reliability of the final results. These issues are analysed and discussed, proposing a strategy for improving the methodology.
The seismic behaviour of the cathedral of Syracuse, Sicily, is investigated by means of two complementary numerical analyses. The monument was built during the 5th century BC, as the Athena temple of Syracuse, and afterward repeatedly modified, mainly by Byzantines and next by Normans, to adapt it to the Christian worship. The complex geometry and the damaged conditions of some masonry elements make the modelling of this monument a challenging task. Moreover, the seismic investigation of this building needs non-linear dynamical analyses that can be practically performed only by adopting models with a limited number of degrees of freedom. Thus, we combined a 3-D finite element linear elastic analysis of the whole building with a 2-D non-linear full dynamical analysis of the transverse section of the building which adopted a specific rigid body and spring model, RBSM. Then, making reference to this latter model, the seismic performance of the building was investigated with reference to a real ground motion recording and to artificial accelerograms whose intensity is compatible with the seismic events that corresponds to return periods of 140 and 475 years.
The Maniace Castle in Syracuse, Italy, built under Emperor Frederick II in the first half of the 13th century, is analyzed from a structural point of view by means of a detailed 3D Finite Element model. The castle was struck by many catastrophic events during the centuries, which heavily damaged the structure and caused subsequent changes in the origi-nal implant.
After a concise description of the main architectural characteristics of the building and its actual state of degradation, two full 3D FE numerical analyses are discussed, representing respectively the present geometric configuration and that ob-tained after a hypothetical intervention aimed at reporting the structure into its original conceived shape. Conventional static analyses in the linear range are performed on such large scale meshes, under gravity loads and horizontal loads con-ventionally representing seismic excitation, respectively investigating the role played by self-weight into the degradation of some structural elements (particularly central columns of the hypostyle hall) and the effect induced by horizontal forces on both the global behavior and the local widespread local regions with positive stresses. On the basis of such numerical results, some useful observations to be considered in a future plan of restoration aimed at reporting the castle in its origi-nal configuration are finally provided.
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