The preservation of historical buildings and infrastructures requires a multidisciplinary approach to provide a real-time knowledge of their dynamical structural behavior. For this task, an effective procedure can be based on the integration between tailored dynamic models, optimized through an iterative synergic process, and an adaptive and modular distributed monitoring system. With respect to modelling, a Finite Element Model (FEM) is a valid solution. In fact, it is not only an effective reference dynamical model, but it can also be used to support the definition of the potential technical requirements for the sensors (e.g., typology, sensitivity, band and number) that will be installed to monitor the chosen structure. We applied this idea to the case of an ancient Greek colonnade, building a FEM validated through published experimental measures. The obtained results prove that this model, behind its traditional use to describe the dynamic structural behaviour of a monument, can serve as a the basis of a metrological tool, especially during the iterative optimization process, to define the technical characteristics of distributed structural monitoring systems.