Analysis of the dynamic behavior in a masonry dome in the city of Florence: Chiesa di Santa Maria del Fiore’s Dome

Masonry construction has been practiced for thousands of years, being an important part of the world’s cultural heritage, containing sociological, economic, cultural and political elements of the place where it is inserted, physically offering us the opportunity to research and learn about the past. The analysis and prediction of historical structures behaviour over the years constitute a fundamental field of research to perpetuate the construction methods and the cultural heritage of civilizations. Such analyses involve not only the static aspect of the constructions but must also include the seismic action, not only due to the possible damages generated to the structure, but also, to the uncertainties associated with the occurrence of this phenomenon in the patrimonial and social security. In this context, the urban area of the Italian municipality and capital of Tuscany, Florence, which became a symbol of the Renaissance during the early Medici period and has the greatest concentration of universally renowned works of art associated with events of universal importance, is located in a seismic zone, with episodes of earthquakes in May 2022, with a magnitude of up to 3.7Mw. Thus, the present work aims to numerically analyse the dynamic behaviour and safety of the main masonry dome in the historic center of Florence: Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore’s Cathedral. For this, it was used the structural analysis software by the finite element method ABAQUS, and the numerical models were validated using the results of experimental analyses, present in the literature. The final model, which adequately reproduces the experimental results, can be used as part of a permanent monitoring system for the structural health of the dome and the prevention of possible damage.