Dynamic Identification of Complex Structures: The Case Study of “Palazzo dei Priori”, Florence, Italy

Structural behavior of historical monumental buildings is quite difficult to represent, due to the complexity of their features and to the lack of regularity both in their geometry and construction materials. The current layout of such buildings is affected by several factors, such as the constructive genesis and evolution, the demolitions and reconstructions processes, and the heterogeneity of materials. Historical buildings are frequently the union of various independently born units, and therefore they can easily present high structural complexity and irregularity. The application of dynamic identification methods allows to investigate the dynamic behavior of buildings. As regards Cultural Heritage assets, this approach leads to determine the mutual interactions between the various structural cells and to define the simplest layout to assume for structural analysis. Furthermore, the dynamic identification does not impact the structural integrity of the building, resulting very suitable for architectures of monumental interest. In this paper the structural behavior of ‘Palazzo dei Priori’, now part of the Palazzo Vecchio complex, is investigated based on a campaign of dynamic monitoring, by using six triaxial seismometers. The obtained data were used for understanding the relationships between the parts of the structural complex. A special attention was paid to the Arnolfo Tower, and to the interaction between Tower and Palazzo Vecchio complex.