Nonlinear modelling for the seismic vulnerability of complex monumental masonry buildings: a case study

This paper presents a seismic vulnerability assessment of a monumental masonry building located in Southern Italy, with particular emphasis on the modelling challenges posed by such a complex structure. The case study concerns a building constructed between 1750 and 1756 during the reign of Charles of Bourbon. The complex has a rectangular footprint (157 m × 125 m) featuring an internal courtyard (108 m × 77 m), and comprises three above-ground storeys. Each of the four corners of the structure includes tower-like volumes, or bastions (25 m × 25 m), which house rooms as well as stairwells that connect the upper levels, supplementing the stairs located in the front and rear wings. For the purpose of the vulnerability assessment, the building was subdivided into eight sections. Six structural models were analysed individually, each assumed to be isolated from adjacent portions. To reflect the good structural continuity of the complex, a global “as-is” model was also developed and analysed. Nonlinear analyses were conducted, including pushover analyses performed using the equivalent frame modelling approach, applied to both local (isolated) and global (as-is) models. The comparison of the results enables critical observations and supports the identification of more effective modelling strategies for the seismic analysis of complex masonry buildings.