Author
M.LUCCHESI,’, C.PADOVANI,2, C.RINI,3, M.SASSU,4 and N.ZANI,2
‘ University of Chieti
2 CNUCE-CNR
} Technical Office of the Municipality of Livorno 4 University of Pisa

Abstract
The proscenium arch of the Teatro Goldoni is a masonry structure made up of a segmentai arch and two collaborating masonry walls affected by significant cracking. The arch has been monitored through periodic checks with mechanical extensometers in order to assess crack evolution, and appropriate in situ tests have been performed (flat-jack and penetrometer tests) with the aim of determining the stress-strain relationship, mortar resistance and stresses at the base of the arch. The structure has also been analyzed numerically by considering the masonry to be a non-linear elastic material with weak tensile strength and limited compressive strength. Numerical simulation of the different construction stages of the arch has allowed us to verify that some fracturing was already present in the arch during the early stages of its construction and can be attributed to the action of permanent loads alone. It has also been established that a sizeable oblique fracture is likely due to unequal settling of the springings.