Consolidation of the “Cassarini-Cavazza” Mansion Timber Floors: An Example of Minimal Conservation Intervention.

This study presents an example of structural safety measures for old wooden and beaten earth floors. Accordingly, this study demonstrates that non-substitutive interventions can simultaneously save historical building materials and techniques, make quick interventions, and save money. Located in the province of Como in the Lombardy region of Italy, the ‘Cassarini-Cavazza’ mansion is a late 18th-century build- ing where the floors are realised with a particular but heavy system of wood and earth mortar. Through its uses over the centuries, this system is now in a critical condition from a structural viewpoint and requires conservation. This study first cites the main international documents and guidelines that highlight the topic of minimum inter- vention. A step-by-step description of the case studio is then presented, as well as the problems identified and the solutions adopted.