The churches in Québec: the knowledge of the territorial specificities for their conservation

In Italy, the problem of conservation of churches in seismic territories is well-known, determining a series of studies on their seismic vulnerability throughout the years. Since 1976, methods for vulnerability assessment, identification of macro-elements and the relative kinematic mechanisms, and damage classification have been developed. All these methods provide a knowledge base useful also in another context, such as in Québec, which is a territory with moderate seismicity and a large presence of unreinforced masonry churches. In particular, a precedent study, performed in 2009, inventoried 109 churches, just in the Island of Montreal. In the Canadian context, the seismic vulnerability assessment of churches is underestimated, compromising the conservation of this portion of the cultural heritage building stock. Moreover, a common phenomenon of recent years is to re-use these buildings for new functions. This is due to the high cost of maintenance of these heritage buildings. They sometimes become containers of new functions with structures that can be dependent or independent from the masonry church building. In this regard, the deep knowledge of ancient building becomes fundamental. This paper presents some churches from Montreal, pointing out their constitutive features that are the result of the construction culture of the area and that influence the vulnerability of these heritage buildings face the earthquakes. The detailed knowledge of the so-called here territorial specificities, that is aspects that change from one territory to another, is relevant in adapting the consolidated and used Italian methodology for the seismic vulnerability assessment of churches. The approach of identifying the territorial specificities through a process of knowledge, proposed here, leads to a method for the seismic vulnerability assessment for churches, specifically related to the territory.