Undoubtedly, heritage buildings serve as essential embodiments of the cultural richness and diversity of the world’s states, and their conservation is of the utmost importance. Specifically, the protection of the structural integrity of these buildings is highly relevant not only because of the buildings themselves but also because they often contain precious artworks, such as sculptures, paintings, and frescoes. When a disaster causes damage to heritage buildings, these artworks will likely be damaged, resulting in the loss of historical and artistic materials and an intangible loss of memory and identity for people. To preserve heritage buildings, state-of-the-art recommendations inspired by the Venice Charter of 1964 suggest real-time monitoring of the progressive damage of existing structures, avoiding massive interventions, and providing immediate action in the case of a disaster. The most up-to-date digital information and analysis technologies, such as digital twins, can be employed to fulfil this approach. The implementation of the digital twin paradigm can be crucial in developing a preventive approach for built cultural heritage conservation, considering its key features of continuous data exchange with the physical system and predictive analysis. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the digital twin concept in the architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) domain. It also critically discusses some applications within the context of preserving the structural integrity of architectural heritage, with a particular emphasis on masonry structures. Finally, a prototype of the digital twin paradigm for the preservation of heritage buildings’ structural integrity is proposed.

The paper compares several simplified methods proposed in the literature for assessing the seismic vulnerability of existing buildings. Type and number of input and output data, limitations of use for different structural typologies, and complexity of use are examined for each methodology to identify the most suitable for assessing the vulnerability of a given class of buildings, based on the available data, the computational effort, and the type of vulnerability judgment. The selected methods were applied to a sample of school buildings located in the province of Naples (Italy). Data were available due to a digital platform and were used to verify the possibility of providing reliable large scale vulnerability judgments based on a reduced set of information, without carrying out additional surveys. The most simplified methods were applied to a sample of about a thousand of buildings, while more detailed methods, needing more information, were applied to a smaller sample. The comparison between the results obtained from different methods allows highlighting advantages and weaknesses of each, so as to identify the convenience in their use according to the specific available information and the objectives of the analysis, finally to evaluate which is more or less safe.

Storm Kristin affected central Portugal on 28 January 2026, producing exceptional wind gusts and widespread disruption across the natural, infrastructural and built environments. This paper presents the results of a post-disaster reconnaissance mission carried out in the municipalities of Leiria and Marinha Grande, two of the most affected areas. The methodology combined ground-based visual inspection, photographic records, unmanned aerial vehicle surveys, terrestrial laser scanning, and information provided by local authorities and infrastructure managers. The results show that the spatial distribution and severity of the damage were consistent with the occurrence of very intense localised gusts associated with a sting jet mechanism. Extensive damage was observed in vegetation, transport networks, electrical and telecommunications infrastructure, public spaces and different building typologies. Across the building stock, roofing systems were the most vulnerable components, particularly lightweight panels, ceramic tiles, ridge elements and poorly anchored envelope systems. Industrial and public buildings showed the most severe failures, including extensive roof loss, deformation of structural and envelope components, and local collapse, while residential buildings generally presented minor-to-moderate damage. Heritage buildings showed specific vulnerabilities related to cumulative degradation, exposed architectural elements and the consequences of local damage for historic fabric. The findings highlight the need for improved wind-risk preparedness, systematic post-event documentation, enhanced roof and cladding anchorage, preventive maintenance, and further investigation of the relationship between recorded wind speeds, observed damage patterns and current wind-design assumptions.