Per una storia degli elementi metallici nella costruzione e nel consolidamento delle capriate lignee

Ferrous metals are often seen as antagonists of timber in buildings, since their gradual spread in structural elements has led to the progressive decrease of timber structures diffusion. However metal elements were and still are used in timber structures and have significantly influenced their evolution in time. On the basis of information found in treatises, historical handbooks and – for more recent times –technical journals, of archival sources, of modern historical investigations, and of direct survey, the paper attempts a critical historical reconstruction of the technological evolution of metal elements used in timber trusses between Middle Ages and the mid-20th century, making explicit its influence on the evolution of trusses typology. The paper also deals concisely with the diffusion of metal elements in strengthening works of existing timber structures, especially with reference to the last century of the analyzed period.