An improved seismic vulnerability assessment approach for historical urban centres: The case study of Campi Alto di Norcia, Italy

Seismic damage assessment is an extraordinary opportunity to evaluate the reliability of vulnerability and risk methodologies applied to historic masonry buildings, giving the possibility of enhancing and optimising mitigation and retrofit strategies. Vulnerability index methodologies are flexible and powerful tools for assessing seismic vulnerability on the urban scale, providing a first screening of the critical issues present in masonry buildings and a possible priority list for the following retrofit operations. Such approaches account for the buildings’ different structural characteristics, directly or indirectly influencing their seismic behaviour and measured through different weights and classes finally providing a vulnerability index. In this paper, we show the application of three well-known methodologies to Campi Alto di Norcia’s medieval city in Valnerina (Italy) stroke by the earthquakes of 24 August and 30 October 2016. The methodologies’ reliability is assessed, based on the observation of real seismic consequences and damages on the masonry buildings, and an optimised methodology is then proposed for the considered case study.The authors are thankful for the valuable contribution of the Architectural Department of the University of Ferrara, and in particular Riccardo dalla Negra, Marco Zuppiroli and Andrea Giannantoni. The authors are also thankful for the support provided by Antonio Duca, Raoul Paggetta and the Municipality of Norcia, in the people of Livio Angeletti, during site inspections. This paper refers to information and data obtained through an agreement undersigned between the University of Florence and the Regional Administration for the development and management of the territory, Civil Protection, Infrastructures and Mobility of the Umbrian Region, in the person of Paolo Gattini, Marco Barluzzi and Stefania Aglietti