PSI - Issue 78

Alberto Lemme et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 78 (2026) 293–300

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area, such as brick or stone buildings. Most of them are located in areas classified as medium and high seismicity, are not able to withstand a strong seismic event, and it is not possible, due to respect for local building types and the protection of cultural heritage, to achieve compliance with the seismic standards that have been extended and evolved over the years, considering areas that until a few years were excluded from seismic risk. The recent seismic events have brought to the forefront the problem of the vulnerability of existing masonry buildings, the ineffectiveness of some consolidation interventions involving the insertion of elements foreign to the original artefacts and local historical building methods. Such interventions have not achieved, in terms of seismic resistance, the expected result at seismic testing and, in many cases, have been the cause of worsening of the damage itself, and the problem must be addressed with a view to calibrating interventions for individual building types, providing effective and low-cost interventions that allow an acceptable level of seismic improvement (minimum 60% of seismic adaptation) to be achieved, to be combined also with safeguarding the protected heritage and the need for energy efficiency. 2. Methodological aspects A concise classification of masonry buildings of cultural interest concerns the structures, divided into vertical, horizontal including arches and vaults, roofing and the historical-artistic apparatus, which may be made of different materials such as stone, iron, stucco-like materials, plaster, paint and wood, in addition to finishes and installations In this context, a fundamental aspect is the interaction of the decorative apparatus with the supporting structure, which may be: collaborative, simple support without any structural interaction of insignificant mass, and decoration applied

on masonry with significant mass that does not contribute to the resistance of the structure. 2.1. Collaboration of decorations with the architectural structure (stone, metal, wood, ...)

These elements may play an active role in the structural response of the building only by mass and contribution to strength and stiffness, such as beams, pillars, cantilevers, or only by resistance, such as chains, or by strength and vulnerability, such as columns, beams, cantilevers, pilasters, etc. In the case of door and window jambs, the insertion into the masonry must be taken care of, in the case of metal gratings, the connections to the structure must be taken care of.

Rosette and stone portal - Misericordia Church (Aq)

Metal grating and stone embrasures - Palazzo Ardinghelli (Aq)

Stone portal and stone embrasures in the facade of Palazzo Ardinghelli (Aq)

Fig. 1. Examples of collaboration of decorative apparatus with the architectural structure.

2.2. Decoration applied "simply" on the wall structure (wall paintings, frescoes, wallpaper, fabrics, etc.) On elevations and interiors there are decorations that have no structural function but which, being applied on walls and ceilings (e.g. vaults), decorate portions of the building that have static and load-bearing value. The decoration may appear on individual walls or cover two faces of a wall that performs a load-bearing function. In these cases, structural consolidation works must be designed with respect for the protection and conservation of the historic and artistic asset.