Structural health monitoring of historical heritage in Italy: some relevant experiences

The architectural heritage in the world represents a fundamental resource and a sign of the national cultural background. Its maintenance and preservation require a balance between the structural safety needs and the respect for their architectural and cultural value. Structural health monitoring (SHM) is increasingly emerging as a unique tool to achieve such a balance, through a proper combination of traditional and innovative techniques. This paper presents some recent experiences of SHM applied to the historical heritage in Italy, discussing relevant tools and reporting some of the most significant case studies.