The seismic vulnerability of architectural heritage

An evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of our architectural heritage is a critical task in the planning of retrofits to buildings in seismic zones. Surviving European monumental buildings are embedded in an urban environment of traditional buildings, the preservation of which is also important. The methodology suggested in this paper is based on the European macroseismic scale in which the classes of vulnerability summarise the observed damage to types of building subjected to past earthquakes. These allow for coherent measuring of the expected behaviour of buildings designed according to modern rules for seismic protection. Criteria are presented for the classifications founded on inventories of buildings based on information varying from poor statistical data about typological parameters of buildings to detailed descriptions of single monuments. Some applications to the safety of villages in the Province of Imperia (Liguria, Italy) are given. Vulnerability curves of monumental structures have been derived from a statistical analysis of damage observed after recent Italian earthquakes. Churches appear to be particularly vulnerable.