PSI - Issue 78

Anna Lo Monaco et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 78 (2026) 544–551

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modified with Baroque elements in the 18th century. The church features a single nave with vaulted chapels. The nave is covered by a girders and planks ceiling realized in the 20th century, hiding the original gabled roof with wooden trusses. The second church is St. John the Baptist Church (Fig. 1b), originally built in the 13th century, then abandoned in the 15th century until 1695, when major structural interventions were required. The original façade was incorporated into a hospital in 1610, a new apsis was made, and access is now through the lateral façade. The church has a Latin cross plan with three vaulted naves ending in the three original apsis. The third is the Saints Peter and Paul’s Church (Fig. 1c). It was built in the late 13th century and underwent significant transformations and interventions over time. The church now features a three-nave plan, with vaulted lateral naves and a central nave with a decorated wooden ceiling, vaulted chapels and a bell tower on the left side. The last church is the Cathedral of Matera (Fig. 1d), constructed between 1230 and 1270 in Apulian Romanesque style. The exterior presents a simple and austere appearance, while the interior is richly adorned with stuccoes, gilding, and painted wooden ceilings added in 1719. The Latin cross plan includes three naves divided by round arches on ten sculpted columns. The analyzed Orthodox Romanian churches (Fig. 2) are generally made of plain brick masonry walls and present a single vaulted nave. They also present a typical rectangular plan with a small transept, ending with a circular or polygonal apsis divided from the nave by the iconostasis, and a main façade always englobing a squared-plan bell tower. The roofing is always made in wooden sloped structure, covered by galvanized sheets. The churches are all isolated. The first church analyzed is the Jesus Resurrection Church (Fig. 2a) in Belint, realized in 1797 with brick masonry walls and barrel vaults with arches. The second one is the Saint Nicholas Church (Fig. 2b) in Bencecu de Jos, built in 1899 and made of brick masonry walls and a barrel vault with lunettes. The third one is the Holy Spirit's Descent Church (Fig. 2c), built in 1888 in the village of Cenad and made of brick masonry walls and wooden barrel vaults with lunettes. The last church is Mother of God's Nativity Church (Fig. 2d), constructed in 1827 in the Chizatau village and made of brick masonry walls, wooden barrel vaults and masonry arches.

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b

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Fig. 1. Churches in Matera, Basilicata Region - Italy: (a) Church of St. Fransis of Assisi; (b) Church of St. John the Baptist; (c) Church of Saints Peter and Paul; (d) Cathedral of Matera.