The archaeoseismology of historical buildings: a model study from the L'Aquila area in Italy

Much of Italy is characterised by two features: an increased risk of seismic activity and a profusion of old and historic buildings. These factors force us to consider the relationship between building safety and practices of conservation and protection, and as such have a direct bearing on our approach to preserving the country's cultural heritage in general. The guidelines issued on the assessment and reduction of seismic risk to cultural heritage assets in the Prime Ministerial Decree (DPCM) of 9 February 2011 underline the importance of studying such properties in terms of their vulnerability to seismic activity, using "factors of confidence" (FC) to translate the qualitative assessments produced during previous phases into quantitative measurements. In addition to the building survey, which describes the precise three-dimensional form of a structure and the relationships between its constituent parts, a substantial part of our knowledge of a building is provided by stratigraphic analysis of the above-ground elements. Similarly, a great deal of useful information can be derived from historical analysis. This paper outlines an archaeoseismological study developed by archaeologists from the University of L'Aquila and researchers from the ITC-CNR in the same city, which applies a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of historic buildings in areas of seismic activity.