Historical building codes issued after the strong Italian earthquakes of Norcia (1859) and Ischia (1883)
Building codes are a fundamental part of the overall strategy for the reduction of seismic risk but their origin is not recent, indeed, sev− eral historical examples are available. After the 1859 Norcia (Central Italy) and 1883 Ischia (Southern Italy) earthquakes two standards were issued, which can be considered a remarkable attempt to improve the performance of ordinary unreinforced masonry structures by regulating architectural configuration and structural details.