Damage Assessment and Design of Structural Interventions for Monte di Pietà in Naples, Italy

Several signs of damage—such as cracks passing through the wall and surface deterioration appearing on the façade of the monumental building of Monte di Pietà in Naples, Italy—suggested the need to carry out on-site investigations to check the safety of this monumental structure. The investigations concerned several aspects: i) geometric survey, ii) survey of the crack patterns and of the deterioration distribution on the internal and external surfaces of the walls, iii) in situ measurements of the state of stress, and iv) georadar investigations to detect the geometry and conditions of the external pilasters in piperno stone (a sort of structural frame), which was suspected of being detached from the rest of the wall and therefore susceptible to possible local failures. An advanced numerical finite element method (FEM) analysis was conducted for the evaluation of the static conditions of the structure. A methodological and interdisciplinary experience to analyze and assess the stability of monumental buildings is discussed. The knowledge of historical reparative interventions and, moreover, an accurate knowledge of the geometry and the structural assessment of the façade suggested the need to design some strengthening and reparative interventions and each type of these interventions has been described in detail.