Seismic Resistance of Masonry Buildings in Historic Urban and Rural Nuclei: Lessons Learned in Slovenia

In the past three decades, significant research has been conducted on seismic behavior of masonry buildings in historic urban and rural nuclei. On the basis of the earthquake damage observations and subsequent experimental simulations of the observed mechanisms, technical measures for the improvement of the seismic resistance have been proposed and methods for seismic resistance verification developed. By in situ and laboratory testing, the basic mechanical properties of the existing and strengthened masonry have been determined. The research results have been used to analyze the requirements of Eurocode regarding the design methods and parameters for structural assessment and retrofitting of buildings. Modifications have been proposed that would lead to more realistic assessment of seismic resistance in the case of historic masonry buildings. For this purpose, the seismic behavior of buildings, subjected to design-level earthquakes for the second time in just a few decades, has been analyzed and correlated with the actually observed earthquake damage.