At the turn of the 17th century, the Jesuit order settled in the city of Cremona, where, thanks to the support of Bishop Speciano and some notable families, it started the construction of the church of Saints Marcellino and Pietro (1606-1620), the Schools and the College. The church model of the aisleless rectangular hall – large enough to accommodate a large number of faithful – forced the fathers to resort to unusual solutions for the area of Cremona, which, over the centuries, also led to instability and structural problems. The careful archival and bibliographic research made it possible to investigate the wooden roof with wide-span “Palladian” trusses (about 15.20 m), directing the diagnostic analyzes, identifying the peculiarities of the technical solutions adopted, in a continuous comparison between indirect sources and in situ investigations. The construction events of the trusses and secondary framing were investigated over a long period of time, to include the succession of minute maintenance and repairs, also carried out in the last two centuries; the complexity and stratification of works carried out in phases and singular interventions, linked to the chronological succession of events, is the basis for the interpretation of the current state of the structure, therefore for a restoration intervention aimed at protecting the building palimpsest.
Tag: History of Construction
-
“Unsual methods”. Italian notes on Military Structural Engineering in WWII (1943-1944)
Abstract
During the SIXXI research (20th Century Structural Engineering: the Italian Contribution), new historical archives were exploited: WWII and its aftermath apperead, evitently, as importants periods for the history of structural engineering. The war for Liberation of Italy (1943-1945) was a unique occasion to test and stress structural design applied to “emergency” scope. An impressive cross-fertilization between the American methods and “know-how” of the Italian technicians featured the “fisrt aid” operations of the Alleys [This papers is framed in the SIXXI project (www.sixxi.eu), thanks to a ERC Adv Grant funding (PI S Poretti, T Iori)]
-
Reinforcedbrick light-weight vaults
Abstract
At the beginning of the Thirties, Italy witnessed a widespread experimentation in new building methods resulting in the construction of examples of quite daring vaulted roofing using reinforced and partly prefabricated brick blocks, a predominantly national material. This research resulted in the construction of many buildings, initially to be used for industrial purposes, which offer interesting construction and structural solutions and are distinguished by their large-sized roofing, with single or double curved surfaces, a significant feature of internal spaces.
-
Steel construction in Italy in the 1930s: the case of the Societ à Nazionale Officine di Savigliano
Abstract
The aim of the research is to retrace that part of the Italian construction, which concerns steel frame structures. Considering the 1930s in particular, the study focuses on the case of one of the most important Italian company in the field of metallurgy and steel construction: the “Società Nazionale Officine di Savigliano” (national company workshops Savigliano).
-
Works of Giuseppe Nicolosi in Cassino: history of the building process and restoration
Abstract
The town of Cassino, located in Southern Lazio and stronghold of the German defensive line Gustav, was fully involved in the famous wartime events of the Second World War and, as well know, was completely destroyed its building heritage and infrastructure’s apparatus. Therefore, just after the war the reconstruction of a city without its urban polarities and ordinary residential buildings began. From these issues, the design and construction experience in Cassino of Giuseppe Nicolosi got started. The paper refers this history and provides a contribution to the Italian engineering history of the late twentieth century