GNGTS 2023 - Atti del 41° Convegno Nazionale

Session 2.2 GNGTS 2023 Seismic vulnerability analysis of historic centres towards risk mitigation strategies. Remarks on the sister cities of Faenza (Italy) and Timisoara (Romania) C. F. Carocci 1 , C. Circo 1 , V. Macca 1 , M. Mosoarca 2 , I. Onescu 2 1 Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania 2 Research Center in Urban Planning and Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Politehnica University of Timisoara Introduction Heritage buildings represent a valuable part of historic cities and need to be protected through comprehensive preservation strategies to ensure the authenticity and spirit of the place. The base of any preservation policy is the knowledge that can be improved following vulnerability assessment methodologies. The paper briefly illustrates two distinct studies that deal with the assessment of the seismic vulnerability of the historic core of the sister cities of Faenza and Timisoara.  The research on the Italian city was developed by the Dept. of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the University of Catania (UniCT) in agreement with Faenza Municipality. The study – whose purpose was the establishment of guidelines for mitigating the vulnerability of the historic urban fabric – was part of the broader framework of the development of the city's master plan. The research on the Romanian city was developed by the Dept. of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Timisoara (UPT). The study aimed to develop a simplified assessment methodology, adapted for the local conditions and easy to apply at the urban scale, as part of the wider prevention policies for a sustainable development of the city. The research proposal is under the concerns of ICOMOS, which encourage a multidisciplinary assessment of historic buildings, aims to reduce the seismic risk, and protect the cultural heritage and local communities. The originality of the proposals is also dictated by intertwining the field of civil engineering with that of architecture, urban planning, and socio-economic studies, focusing also on the cultural and artistic features. The studies that have been carried out independently in the respective universities in Italy and Romania are briefly illustrated in the following to highlight differences in terms of the objectives