On-site inspection and dynamic testing of a masonry tower

The historic complex of Santa Maria del Carrobiolo in Monza (Italy) includes a church, a monastery, a bell-tower and other buildings, which were erected at different times. The direct survey of the bell-tower, carried out within the cataloguing activity of several religious buildings in Monza, highlighted that two sides of the tower are directly supported by the load-bearing walls of the apse and South aisle of the church. As the discovery of the weak structural arrangement of the building determined obvious concern about the characteristics of the tower foundation and the structural performance under wind and seismic actions, an extensive research program is currently in progress to assess the structural condition of the historic building and to address its preservation. After a brief description of the bell-tower, full details are given in the paper on the results of the first part of the investigation, including: (a) documentary research, systematic visual inspection on site and experimental evaluation of the fundamental period of the tower, carried out using an industrially engineered microwave interferometer; (b) installation of a static monitoring system aimed at surveying the opening of the main cracks; (c) dynamic tests in operational conditions, performed using conventional high-sensitivity accelerometers.