Importance of mortars characterization in the structural behavior of the monumental and civil buildings: case histories in L'Aquila (Italy)

Aim of the present work is the characterization of mortars coming from religious, monumental and civil buildings signi!cantly damaged by the 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila (Italy). The mortar characterization is performed in order to understand their characteristics (quality) in terms of raw materials, production and mix proportion. Moreover, in order to understand the role of the mortars in the mechanical behaviour of the masonries, non destructive mechanical tests have been performed in situ by Pin Penetration Resistance Test. The non destructive tests were correlated to the mineralogical and petrographical data. A whole characterization of the mortars is in fact fundamental, according to the last national technical standards, to reach adequate levels of knowledge as well as factors of con!dence in order to design a proper structural project.