Ricerc@Sapienza

The study concerns Italian masonries and focuses on the historical, medieval and modern mortars. In every regional investigated context (Piedmont and Po Valley area, Umbria-Marche region, Apulia and Sardinia) a wide variety of materials, with different chemical-physical characteristics, has been used and these differences determine also different structural behaviours.
The project aims at improving our knowledge about historical mortars in order to deepen the conservation of Italian built heritage, especially in the seismic risk zones. To achieve these results we will take samples on which we will perform analyses to investigate how much the different mechanical and cohesion properties affect the vulnerability of the ruined or collapsed structures.
Thanks to this information it will be possible to reach great advances in prevention, maintenance, protection and preservation of historical buildings: 1. Deepening the study of historical technical know-how on how to build complexes structures, on their vulnerability and maintenance; 2. discerning material deterioration processes and instabilities due to the masonry properties; 3. Identifying tests and procedures suitable for static verification procedures; 4. Recognising effective techniques for consolidation and conservation, prevention and degradation deceleration; 5. planning a multidisciplinary analytical protocol for the characterization of masonries; 6. Organizing the surveys-derived information and the other results in an open GIS database system.
Further details will concern the history of construction techniques, with particular regard to the relationship between local resources and construction sites. Another important topic will be the role of different components and additives during the preparation of mortars and their level of hydraulicity.
The materials will be studied both in situ and in laboratory, on different observation scales: the territory, the buildings, and the materials.