The Ancient Timber Roofing Structures in Emilia-Romagna Region

Abstract

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.