PSI - Issue 44

Elena Michelini et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 44 (2023) 1530–1537 Elena Michelini et al / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2022) 000 – 000

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with a plaque on the main façade of the building (Fig. 1b). In the 19 th century, the original structure underwent important modifications, with the demolition of some of the adjacent buildings and a probable planimetric enlargement on the east side. In that period, the building assumed the role of local courthouse, while at the beginning of the 20 th century it was destined to host municipal offices, as nowadays. Today, the ground floor is also the home of the headquarters of municipal police and of the library of the “Opera Pia Manara”, founded in 1826.

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Fig. 1. Praetorian Palace in Borgo Val di Taro: (a) in a post card dating back to 1904; (b) from a picture taken in 2022.

The Palace has a U-shape, with two lateral wings delimiting an internal courtyard. The building has four floors, the lower one being partially underground. The main entrance, with a double height arcade, overlooks Manara square, placed on one side of via Nazionale, the central street of the town. The structure is mainly made of barely cut local stone masonry, properly dressed, which is left exposed on the eastern façade of the building (Fig. 2a). Inside the building, masonry is also visible in some parts of the lower floor, as well as in the attic of the Town Hall. The thickness of the external walls approximately ranges between 1.10 – 1.30 m at the lower level, while it passes to 0.70 – 0.80 m at the covering floor. Floors are almost completely vaulted at the first three levels (Fig. 2b), even if in some parts they were substituted by means of Reinforced Concrete (RC) joists and interposed hollow clay blocks, with an upper RC topping. The fourth level is mainly characterized by the presence of deformable timber diaphragms, but also in this case RC joists with interposed hollow clay blocks were used in some parts. The covering structure, which was rebuilt in the fifties, is quite complex, with single or coupled precast RC joists directed along both the pitch and the ridge of the roof. Some of these joists are supported by transfer columns, which are in turn sustained by beams, mainly made of steel.

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Fig. 2. (a) Masonry type and arrangement in the eastern façade; (b) vaulted floor at the lower level, in the library.