Add to ORKGRecent Italian earthquakes have shown the high vulnerability of historical masonry constructions to seismic actions. This paper investigates the seismic response of two important historical masonry churches located in Northern Italy through advanced numerical simulations. Documentary research and field surveys provided a preliminary knowledge of utmost importance of the two churches. Detailed three-dimensional FE models with a damage plasticity behavior for masonry were developed and non-linear dynamic analyses were performed to obtain the damage distribution in the churches and to identify the most vulnerable macro-elements. Finally, the study investigates the effectiveness of a strengthening intervention implemented in the numerical model...