Ricerc@Sapienza

The Sanctuary of “Santa Maria delle Grazie” is located at Fornò in the countryside near Forlì (Italy). The first temple, built in 1450, assumes today’s configuration at the begin- ning of the sixteenth century, to undergo various modifica- tions, both for static necessities and for changes in tastes related to the time, as well as for natural disasters and war damage. Structurally, the Sanctuary consists of an exter- nal masonry cylinder, around 33m diameter and 15m in height, with four semicircular niches protruding outwardly; inside there is a similar concentric structure, the oldest temple, about 14m diameter and 20m tall, covered by a dome supported by an octagonal masonry structure. The space between the two circular structures is covered with a wooden roof resting on thirty-six main wooden beams. In the last years the Sanctuary has been subjected to numerous studies, surveys and analysis, including FEM structural analysis (also due to singular curvilinear typol- ogy of all masonry structures). To regard seismic risk, the building was studied focusing on the Guidelines (2011) for the “Evaluation and Reduction of Seismic Risk of Cul- tural Heritage.” Today, following the entry into force of the new technical standards NTC2018 (January 2018) we have scheduled an update of the structural analysis and a series of proposals for restoration, anti-seismic improve- ment and dehumidification works, on regard to effects of decay caused by soaking on the mechanical characteris- tics of the masonry.