Seismic vulnerability of Santa Maria Novella Basilica in Florence

This paper presents the evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of Santa Maria Novella Basilica in Florence. Santa Maria Novella is one of the most important historical churches in Italy and, for this reason, different studies on the structural behavior of this monument were conducted during the last decades. Particularly, this work is focused on the dynamic behavior of the church. Mechanical properties of masonries were determined through “in situ” and laboratory tests, according to the National Italian Code (Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni, 2018). An eigenvalue analysis on a finite element model of the Basilica was performed to obtain the fundamental vibration mode shapes. Finally, to evaluate the seismic risk index in terms of ratio between the minimum peak ground acceleration which leads to the first collapse of a structural element and the design peak ground acceleration, a response spectrum analysis was carried out to evaluate the stress fields in both columns and walls.