GIAMUNDO, VINCENZO1; SARHOSIS, VASILIS2; LIGNOLA, GIAN PIERO3; COSENZA, EDOARDO4

1) PhD Candidate, University of Naples Federico II, Dept. of Structures. for Eng. and Arch., Vincenzo.giamundo@unina.it

2) Research Associate, Cardiff University, Civil Engineering, sarhosisv@cardiff.ac.uk

3) Assistant Professor, University of Naples Federico II, Dept. of Structures. for Eng. and Arch., glignola@unina.it

4) Full Professor, University of Naples Federico II, Dept. of Structures. for Eng. and Arch., edoardo.cosenza@unina.it

In this paper the seismic vulnerability analysis of a magnum opus of the architectural heritage residing in the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy is presented. Pompeii is a Roman city destroyed during a catastrophic eruption of the Vesuvius volcano in 79 a.C.. Nowadays, Pompeii is one of the biggest tourist sites in Southern Italy and since 1997 it is a UNESCO world heritage site. During its life, the city suffered many earthquakes, and the ruins of the ancient city show several partially collapsed buildings. The peculiarity of the analysed colonnade is an “innovative solution” adopted to avoid long span beams over its slender columns: short segments were built up providing opposing inclined patterned edges. Distinct element analyses outcomes are discussed to evaluate the current seismic vulnerability of the colonnade, in order to preserve the safety of the structure and to study the effects of degradation of the archaeological material.

Keywords: Archaeological ruins, DEM, Parametric analysis, Pompeii, colonnade