Preservation strategy of historic towers based on continuous dynamic monitoring: a case study

After the earthquakes of Spring 2012, an extensive research program had been performed to assess the state of preservation of the Gabbia Tower, the tallest historic tower in Mantua. The post-earthquake investigation (including direct survey, historic and documentary research, testing of materials and ambi-ent vibration tests) highlighted the poor state of preservation of the upper part of the building and suggested the installation of a dynamic monitoring system, with seismic and structural health monitoring purposes. After a brief descrip-tion of the investigated tower and its state of preservation, the paper summa-rizes some results of the long-term dynamic monitoring.