Historical timber roofs play a significant role in architectural heritage, as listed in the World Heritage List protected by UNESCO. Despite their complexity, they are frequently lacking in maintenance, with the consequence that only a few original examples have been preserved until today, contradicting the principle of minimum intervention. In the paper, a decision-making approach has been proposed for the best and most sustainable solution, in which tradition and innovation meet to achieve the maximum quality with minimum intervention. With an emphasis on sustainability (environmental, economic, technological, historic, and social), analyses have been carried out in order to compare various intervention alternatives, modeled in a Heritage-Building Information Modeling (HBIM) environment, assessed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), and implemented with the multi-criteria Modelo Integrado de cuantificacion de Valor para Edificacion Sostenibles (MIVES) methodology. The case study is the roof of the Michelangelo Cloister in the Diocletian Baths in Rome, which is a significant example of historical timber roofs. The results are given in terms of a quantitative sustainability index SI, which takes into account different alternatives of intervention, including the task of diagnosis.

In Roman Baths, the Romans employed barrel and groin vaults of great dimensions, with maximum span more than 20 m; simple tools of structural analysis of ancient wide span vaulted halls are still lacking, due to geometrical and material complexity. In this paper, we study the collapse behavior, under horizontal static action, of a corner cross vault of the Baths of Diocletian in Rome (Hall I). Two methods of analysis are here used: non-linear incremental finite element and limit analysis. In both cases, 3D models have been developed by means of UAV inspection, NDT measures, and AVT monitoring. The construction of the overall 3D geometry has been here afforded with a specific pre-processing approach. Midas commercial software has been employed for FEM analysis, assuming a constitutive law specifically developed for Roman concrete. In limit analysis, masonry is discretized as a system of interacting rigid bodies in no-tension and frictional contact. The computational code consists in a linear approach, which makes use of a series of optimization packages via lower and upper bound techniques. Finally, a strategy based on FEM analysis including discontinuities was implemented, and the results were compared with the two previous approaches.

In this study, a rigorous assessment approach is proposed in order to promote conservation of cultural heritage instead of partial replacement too often overused in the past. With reference to the XVI–XVII cloisters in the Baths of Diocletian in Rome, in the small cloister, known as Ludovisi’s, the old chestnut timber structure was dismantled and substituted with a new roof made of glued and laminated timber rafters and purlins. In the past 20 years, some of the bays of Michelangelo’s cloister have also undertaken substitution of the roof structure, with new timber elements of chestnut wood. In order to satisfy a comprehensive reliability assessment of the roof structure, as required by the management of the monument, the authors carried out non-destructive measures, experimental full-scale tests, as well as a refined finite element modeling, aiming at the conservation of the historical value of the timber structure.

The growing use of highly specialized tools has led to a better knowledge of the mechanical properties of the structures, reducing the destructive tests. The paper is aimed to identify an investigation method capable of directing staff in the planning of non-destructive test. The experimental campaigns must be planned in order to optimize the number and the type of tests to limit invasiveness and impact. The proposed method has been organized in a logical scheme that permits, in five steps, to predict with a good approximation the critical sections for an optimal setup of testing instruments. This method has been applied to the Octagonal Hall in Diocletian’s Bath, to establish a better location for the dynamic endoscopy and tomographic tests. A geometrical model was built using the plans, elevations, sections provided by the National Roman Museum and the point cloud made through a drone. With HBIM (Heritage Building Information Modeling) it was possible to synthesize the information obtained from the geometric and material survey and then to convey it to a finite element model built on Midas Fea NX. Then, structural analyses, both linear and nonlinear, have been carried out for the optimal test setup.

Analysis and diagnosis of historical masonry buildings are frequently affected by uncertainties due to unexpected behaviors caused by cumulative damage, material decay or transformations. This research work follows a methodology in the structural analysis of the historical masonry church of San Filippo Neri in Macerata, severely damaged after the Central Italy Earthquake occurred in October 2016. The PRiSMa laboratory (Proof testing and Research in Structures and Materials) of Roma Tre University carried out an extensive onsite testing campaign, including NDT tests as sonic tomography and endoscopy, and minor destructive technique as double flat jack test, together with dynamic monitoring under ambient vibrations, to investigate the state of conservation of the building. The onsite testing results were then implemented in an accurate finite element model, which was tuned up by means of global dynamic response provided by OMA (operational modal analysis) and updated, after the sensitivity analysis, through the Douglas-Reid method. Finally, nonlinear static and dynamic analyses were performed to investigate the state of damage of the church and reduce its uncertainties. This methodology will support the design of strengthening measures to achieve a higher level of safety concerning both needs of protection and conservation, thereby avoiding ineffectual or amiss interventions.

A comprehensive study was carried out to integrate information from different sources and evaluate the effects of induced vibrations on a temple. Historical analysis was fundamental to interpreting the evolution of the construction and defining the HBIM. Experimental data were implemented in the FEM of the site, including the temple, its foundations, and the soil stratifications. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to identify the most influential parameters, which were calibrated to reduce error with the experimental frequencies. The FEM was further optimized with the Douglas–Reid method, considering, simultaneously, modal frequencies and deformations. Two different nonlinear dynamic analyses were performed; one analysis studied the effect on the temple of the dynamically moving load of the tram, and the other analysis studied the response of the temple to three-dimensional accelerations applied at the base. The drawbacks of each simulation were identified by comparing the numerical and experimental results.