Abstract. We present the main outcomes of a recent experimental activity denoted to studying the dynamic behaviour of Wire Rope Isolators loaded along the axial direction. The experimental activity has been carried out at the laboratory of the Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture of the University of Naples Federico II (Italy). Furthermore, a new hysteretic model derived from a recently developed class of asymmetric hysteretic models is illustrated. The main advantages of the proposed model with respect to the classical ones, typically having a differential nature, are: 1) the output variable is computed in closed-form, i.e. without numerically solving a differential equation; 2) the proposed model is based on two different sets of parameters that allows one to independently model the loading and unloading curves. Specifically, a close matching between the experimental asymmetric loop and the numerically one has been obtained.