Restoration and strengthening of the timber roof of an ancient building in Borno (BS)

Borno is a small town in Camonica Valley (province of Brescia, northern Italy). The urban scheme of its historical centre show a long stratification with traces of roman period. A part of this centre display the scheme of a typical fortified settlement (dating before XI century) usually made by perishable materials, gradually replaced by stone buildings and walls. Within the perimeter of this survivor urban pattern, there's a building whose masonry at ground floor probably date back to XIII-XIV centuries. This building is now unused and shows signs of later expansions and raisings, probably attributable to a rural use (stables at the ground floor and a hayloft at the higher floor). In February 2017 the timber roof of the building was partially damaged by a fire. A restoration and strengthening project started from the damages consequent to this fire and to its extinction; the paper presents the works carried out between October 2017 and January 2018. The project is based on a strictly conservative vision of the intervention on built heritage, which requires maximum material preservation and declared modernity and recognizability of the additions. The project has involved: the preservation of partially burned joists and beams reintegrated with timber prostheses connected with internal metal plates; the strengthening of the existing truss with a system of steel struts and tie-rods; the addition of a new truss in glulam and steel; the addition of a new glulam frame for the strengthening of the isolated stone masonry pillar, that was damaged by the partial collapse of the timber roof due to the fire.