Seismic Behavior of the Roncole Bell Tower During the Emilia-Romagna Earthquake: A Numerical Scenario-Based Approach

Historic masonry towers are iconic components of the world’s architectural heritage, yet their seismic vulnerability remains to be investigated, particularly regarding the influence of vertical ground motion. This study investigates the seismic response of the Roncole bell tower, a 35 m high slender masonry structure located in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, that experienced severe damage during the 2012 Emilia earthquake sequence, presumably related to the second shock of 29 May, the epicenter of which was within approximately 5 km of the tower. In the absence of direct site recordings, a simplified seismic scenario was reconstructed using accelerograms from two nearby stations and interpolation procedures based on logarithmic attenuation relationships. Nonlinear finite element analyses were performed in Abaqus using a detailed three-dimensional model comprising approximately 263,000 tetrahedral elements and a Concrete Damage Plasticity constitutive law for masonry. Four elastic moduli of the material and multiple seismic input scenarios were considered, with and without inclusion of the vertical seismic component. Modal analysis showed that the tower response is governed by the first two dominant horizontal bending modes and one significant vertical mode involving a high percentage of participating mass. Results indicate that while horizontal excitation controls global sway behavior, the vertical component strongly amplifies axial force fluctuations and vertical displacements located close the tower base and rules the bending capacity of the tower. Nonlinear time-history analyses also revealed residual drifts close to collapse thresholds drifts under most of the scenarios considered. Simulated crack patterns closely matched the actual earthquake damage, at the base of the tower, window openings, and the façade in the tilting side. The study demonstrates that three-component seismic analyses are essential for reliable assessment of historic slender masonry towers subjected to near-source earthquakes.