ENEA ACTIVITIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR THE SEISMIC PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Particular attention has been devoted by ENEA for several years to the development, validation and application of innovative techniques applicable to the seismic protection of cultural heritage, in the framework of European and national projects. In particular, ENEA actively participated in the REEDS and ISTECH Project, funded by the European Commission (EC), which allowed the development of devices capable of improving the stability of such structures, in particular their seismic protection. In ISTECH, Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) Devices (SMADs) were developed and employed in the demoapplication foreseen by the project itself, which was the restoration of the Bell-Tower of the San Giorgio in Trignano Church at San Martino in Rio (Reggio Emilia, Italy), which had been severely damaged by the 1996 Modena and Reggio Emilia earthquake. It is worthwhile stressing that, contrary to other structures which had been restored in a conventional way, the Trignano Bell-Tower did not suffer any damage during the earthquake which struck again the Reggio Emilia and Modena Districts in June 2000. Moreover, in the framework of ISTECH exploitation, two further pilot applications of SMADs were completed during the restoring intervention: to the transept tympana of the St Francis at Assisi and to the San Feliciano Cathedral facade at Foligno (Perugia, Italy), both heavily damaged by the 1997 Marche and Umbria earthquake. At present, further research projects, heavily involving ENEA, are in progress or have been proposed for the development and pilot application of innovative techniques for the seismic protection of cultural heritage; in particular: