Condition assessment and monitoring in Milan Cathedral: Putting risk assessment into practice

The cathedral of Milan required continuous care during the long realization works, since 1386, its foundation, to 1964, officially indicated as the end of the construction. The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, the body managing the construction and the conservation of the Cathedral in the course of time, developed a series of technical competencies and procedures for this purpose. These good practices are also supported by the Politecnico di Milano. Among the various activities carried out by Politecnico di Milano for sustaining the Veneranda Fabbrica in its mission, the risk analysis related to the rich decorative sculptures became a new point demanding the setting of a proper evaluation methodology. By analyzing different approaches among risk and condition assessment, the authors present a study of a new procedure for detecting risk conditions through a set of indicators. The aim of this procedure is to define an index connected to the frequency of the inspection activities necessary for guaranteeing safety aspects concerning the building and the people attending its spaces.