Anna Marzo

The Ancient Timber Roofing Structures in Emilia-Romagna Region

Widespread survey, aiming at the evaluation of both vulnerability of the structures and usability of the buildings, have been carried out after the seismic events occurred on May 2012 in Emilia-Romagna districts. During the surveys, several cover typologies have been verified, which often evidenced lack in terms of earthquake-proof features. In contrast, some ancient timber roofs showed an original construction technology, according to the seismic mitigation measures. Clearly, the attention to the behaviour of the covering structures against the horizontal actions was due to the historic memory related to earthquakes occurred in the past or simply due to a good construction practice lost during the following years.This paper it is devoted to explain the analysis campaign carried out on an ancient timber covering structure located in the historic centre of the town of Cento (FE), aiming at the characterisation of its seismic behaviour. The study consists on three subsequent steps: 1) in-depth visual and geometrical survey; 2) in-situ non-destructive tests for material characterization; 3) Finite Element modelling of the complex structure.

The inventory of structural typologies of timber floor slabs and roofs in the monumental built heritage: the case of the Royal Palace of Naples

ABSTRACT In monumental buildings, either residences of the nobility or churches or theaters, dating back to the last millennium, timber carpentry was spread, reaching very high levels of both structural and functional performances and more and more refined constructive technologies that allowed them to cover also very long spans. All of Europe is fully covered by magnificent examples. Among them, the Royal Palace of Naples provides significant proof of the 17th century’s building practices. Through a very deep and challenging on-site survey the identification of several structural types had been possible. This represents a very important contribution to the knowledge of existing timber structures in the valuable built heritage.