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Most of ancient Rome was settled on the Tiber River Holocene flood plain. Monuments of Imperial age (I to V century) show evidence of significant damage, mainly produced by earthquakes generated in the seismo-genic areas of the Central Apennines, 70 to 130 km away from Rome. The different level of damage suffered by the two most important honorary...
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... spectral ratios provide an estimate of the near-sur- face amplification of the two sites due to the wave prop- agation in the uppermost soil layers. Based on our model (see Fig. 3 and Table 1), the soft Holocene sediments show a resonance effect at 1.1 Hz with an amplification reaching a factor of 7. This resonance peak occurs at the same frequency as predicted by one-dimensional (ID) theory. ...
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The L'Aquila seismic crisis of April 2009 caused some damage to buildings in Rome's urban area, located about 100 km west of the epicentral area. This paper reconstructs the damage scenario based on data provided by the Fire Brigade (FB) of the Provincial Department of Rome. The data base contains: i) records of telephone calls received by the FB a...
Citations
... Structural deformation examples in ancient buildings, influenced by the local seismic response, persist today. Notably, the Colonna Antonina in Rome experienced significant ground motion due to recent deposits with poor geotechnical characteristics during a historical earthquake [17]. Similar effects were observed in the Temple of Hephaistos and in the Propylaia in Athens [18][19][20]. ...
Archaeoseismological research often deals with two unresolved questions: the magnitude and level of damage caused by past earthquakes, and the precise location of the seismic source. We propose a comprehensive review of an integrated approach that combines site effects with the analysis of geochemical data in the field of archaeoseismology. This approach aims to identify active buried faults potentially related to the causative seismic source and provide insights into earthquake parameters. For each integrated method, we report the foundational principles, delineation of theoretical field procedures, and exemplification through two case studies. Site effects analysis in archaeoseismology assumes a pivotal role in unraveling historical seismic occurrences. It enables estimating the earthquake magnitude, assessing the seismotectonic patterns, and determining the resulting damage level. Valuable data related to earthquake parameters can be extracted by analyzing vibration frequencies and acceleration measurements from structures within archaeological sites. This information is instrumental in characterizing seismic events, evaluating their impact on ancient structures, and enhancing our understanding of earthquake hazards within the archaeological context. Geochemical investigations supply indispensable tools for identifying buried active faults. The analysis of fluids and gases vented in proximity to faults yields valuable insights into their nature, activity, and underlying mechanisms. Faults often manifest distinctive geochemical imprints, enabling the differentiation between tectonically active and volcanically related fault systems. The presence of specific gases can further serve as indicators of the environmental conditions surrounding these fault networks. Integrating site effects analysis and geochemical investigations within archaeoseismological research is crucial to improving our understanding of unknown past earthquakes. Moreover, it enhances the seismic hazard assessment of the region under study.
... As a matter of fact, the effects of past seismic events in Rome were observed, and then passed on to the subsequent generations, by describing the behaviour of these structures and other monumental buildings. It is interesting to point out that they are in sites with quite different geotechnical conditions (Boschi et al. 1995). ...
The Marcus Aurelius Column has been a historical seismometer in Rome since its construction. Most of the seismic events of the past had effects on it. Therefore, the preservation of this monument is of fundamental importance for at least two reasons. First of all, to extend as much as possible its life time, in order to allow enjoying the sight to future generations. Then, the knowledge of these column characteristics will allow to improve the interpretation of historical documents on seismic event in Rome and to continue using it as historical seismometer in the Eternal City. In this paper, the last experimental vibrational analysis carried out on the Column is shown. Twenty-four velocimeter sensors, connected to a single acquisition unit, were used. Both time and frequency domain analysis were performed.
... Future developments will regard also the setup of a suitable finiteelement model with two objectives: to verify and to improve the interpretation of the experimental results and to carry out a vulnerability analysis of the column. Obviously, the mathematical model should account for the effective seismic action that can be supposed to act at the site and the dynamic soil-structure interaction [30], and the contribution of the base pedestal and its interaction with the column. ...
Tower structures were often built by Romans to celebrate military victories, especially in honor of army leaders. They played an important role in the reconstruction of some historical periods, but also in the study of the historical seismicity. These considerations, in conjunction with their cultural value, justify the interest in such structures, which are still objects of several studies. In this paper, the experimental dynamic analyses of the column erected in honour of Emperor Trajan, which is one of the most interesting tower structure in Rome, are shown. The experimental results obtained recently are compared with those of a previous experimental campaign. The study is the base for a numerical modelling of the tower and successive structural analysis in the framework of a preservation effort.
... A study by Ambrosini et al. (1986) reported that the 1915 earthquake caused the most severe damage to buildings located on the Holocene alluvial fill of the Tiber valley, thereby stressing the role of local geology in amplifying ground shaking. Similarly, Boschi et al., (1995) and Funiciello et al. (1995) showed a close relationship between selective damage to monuments, such as the Antonina Column and the Colosseum, and presence of soft alluvial sediments underneath. In the last decades numerous studies were conducted to quantify the expected site effects within the city of Rome due to the basin-like geometry of the Tiber river valley as well as to its alluvial fill. ...
A multidisciplinary approach is proposed for evaluating the effects of shaking due to strong motions on the Tiber river alluvial deposits in Rome's historical centre. At this aim, a detailed 3D geological model of the Tiber river alluvial deposit has been constructed and a numerical analysis of site response was performed along two geological sections across the historical centre of Rome. The numerical models were performed in both 1D and 2D configurations assuming linear and nonlinear conditions, by applying a three component seismic input. The results show that the maximum shear strains are strongly conditioned by the layer geometries (i.e. 2D or 1D conditions) and by the soil heterogeneity. Moreover, the reliability of the maximum strains obtained by numerical modeling is discussed comparing these values respect to both the volumetric and the degradation dynamic thresholds of the considered soils.
... Pliny the Elder), while others in epigraphs. For instance, the destruction of the Selinunte temples and the rotation of the drums of the column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome have been related to earthquakes (Boschi et al. 1995;Guidoboni et al. 2002;Bottari et al. 2009), although the passing of time tends to mask the effects of earthquakes. The nearly perfectly aligned toppled columns of 'temple C' at Selinunte (Fig. 1) suggest an earthquake as the causing event (Fig. 2), although the proposed correlation of the column orientation and the ground motion direction has not yet been verified. ...
... The challenge for the future will be the proper management, conservation, and development of the city, which suffers from some of the geohazards affecting other urban areas in the world. To date, the knowledge of the geological environment of Roma and of the surrounding Roman Basin have been based on published monographies and geological surveys (Ventriglia, 1971;Funiciello, 1995;Ventriglia, 2002;Funiciello and Giordano, 2005), and many research papers (e.g., Ambrosetti and Bonadonna, 1967;Bonadonna, 1968;Conato et al., 1980;Milli, 1992Milli, , 1994Amanti et al., 1995;Bellotti et al., 1995;Boschi et al., 1995;Faccenna et al., 1995;Fäh et al., 1995;Marra and Rosa, 1995;Carboni and Iorio, 1997;Milli, 1997;Marra et al., 1998;Bozzano et al., 2000;Florindo et al., 2007). ...
A research project was carried out by the C.N.R. to develop an integrated geological-geotechnical model of the subsoil of Rome. Data of more than 6000 boreholes were archived in a GIS and used to develop the geological model; the results presented in this work mainly focused on the upper Pleistocene-Holocene alluvial deposits. Information of more than 2000 boreholes penetrating the alluvial deposits was encoded and elaborated using geostatistics to model the sedimentary bodies. Spatial variability of the physical and mechanical properties was also investigated to develop the geotechnical model. Multiple linear regression, kriging, and cokriging were applied to estimate the drained friction angle φ’; cross-validation demonstrates the cokriging with the PCA factors as auxiliary variables being the most suitable method. In progress work on cokriging of φ’ using granulometries as auxiliary variables demonstrates this approach to be viable for future applications.
... It is with this perspective that we should also read the velocity values retrieved for Marcus Aurelius' Column in Piazza della Colonna (No. 4 in Figure 3), where Vv ranges from −1.1 to +2.7 mm/y. The latter appears significant, if we consider that since the mid-16th century, the column has a historical record of fracturing and dislocation of marble blocks that were caused by differential ground motion across a narrow zone due to the lateral heterogeneity of the local bedrock geology [32,33]. A similar situation is observed for the other famous ancient column in Rome, i.e., Trajan's Column in the namesake Imperial Forum (Figure 10a). ...
... The soil Colosseum interaction model is necessary in order to allow all analysis about historical phoenomena in 2000 years like building, damage, viscosity, vertical displacement of foundations arriving to 40 cm between southern and northern sides, today. About modal vibrations [24,33,38,41], it results that: 1) instruments for tests on the basis are present in [24,33], they are missing in [38,41]; 2) the monument vibrations start from the basis in [24,33], they start from the second floor [38,41]; 3) radial and transversal vibrations are considered in [33], they are disregarded in [38,41]; [23,26,27]. ...
The future structural damages may be produced by ambient vibrations and possible earthquakes. An accurate 3D analytical model could be a valid scientific tool able to warrantee the monument preservation. In past researches: a) the existing tests in 200 points were used, b) many man hours spent were spent for analyses to be compared with tests, obtaining the map of 700 elasticity modules. The sure feasibility was demonstrated for the proposed methodology, with the former research. And now the accuracy improvement is proposed, by further: c) tests, d) analyses. The objective of this scientific proposal is the improvement of a 3D F.E. model for the simulation of the linear dynamic real behavior everywhere in Colosseum for future controls to warrantee the structural preservation. The former research (a+b) is shown here.
... It is with this perspective that we should also read the velocity values retrieved for Marcus Aurelius' Column in Piazza della Colonna (No. 4 in Figure 3), where Vv ranges from −1.1 to +2.7 mm/y. The latter appears significant, if we consider that since the mid-16th century, the column has a historical record of fracturing and dislocation of marble blocks that were caused by differential ground motion across a narrow zone due to the lateral heterogeneity of the local bedrock geology [32,33]. A similar situation is observed for the other famous ancient column in Rome, i.e., Trajan's Column in the namesake Imperial Forum (Figure 10a). ...
We processed X-band COSMO-SkyMed 3-m resolution StripMap HIMAGE time series (March 2011–June 2013) with the Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS), to retrieve an updated picture of the condition and structural health of the historic centre of Rome, Italy, and neighbouring quarters. Taking advantage of an average target density of over 2800 PS/km2, we analysed the spatial distribution of more than 310,000 radar targets against: (1) land cover; (2) the location of archaeological ruins and restoration activities; and (3) the size, orientation and morphology of historical buildings. Radar interpretation was addressed from the perspective of conservators, and the deformation estimates were correlated to local geohazards and triggering factors of structural collapse. In the context of overall stability, deformation was identified at the single-monument scale, e.g., for the Roman cistern and exedra in the Oppian Hill. Comparative assessment against InSAR processing of C-band imagery (1992–2010) published in the literature confirms the persistence of ground motions affecting monuments and subsidence in southern residential quarters adjacent to the Tiber River, due to the consolidation of compressible deposits. Vertical velocity estimated from COSMO-SkyMed PS exceeds −7.0 mm/y in areas of recent urbanization.
... • non homogeneous mass distribution, due to the presence of the spiral staircase but also to restorations; • non homogeneous mechanical properties of the marble subject to degradation, related to the exposition to weathering, earthquakes and ambient vibrations for about 2000 years; • presence of links between blocks, both in vertical and horizontal directions, some of which are visible, whose effectiveness should be analyzed; • the static and dynamic soil-structure interaction [13]. All these uncertainties should be clarified in order to analyze properly the health status of the monument and to evaluate its capability to support future dynamic actions, related to earthquakes, wind, ambient or traffic-induced vibrations. ...
The importance of studying the health status of monuments relies in their preserva-tion effort but also in the historical analysis of earthquakes. The historical seismicity has been reconstructed thanks to historical documents that reports descriptions about the damages of monuments. This information is very important also because lots of monuments can still be observed and analyzed and so the characteristics of past earthquakes can be estimated. But the analysis and interpretation of the historical documents should also accounting for the present structural health status of monuments, which is influenced by material degradation, changes in loads, seismic actions, traffic-induced vibrations, presence of other buildings. The experimental analysis plays and important role. The Trajan's Column in Rome has been the subject of the study shown in this paper. Ambient and traffic-induced vibrations were record-ed in order to characterize dynamically the column and to point out same aspects of its be-haviour. The results have been compared with those obtained in previous campaigns.
