The Arsenale of Venice is a naval shipyard that played a leading role in the Venetian empire, representing a large but little known monumental complex of exceptional historical value. It was one of the most important areas of Venice, vital for the economy of the Serenissima republic for many centuries. A structure having a very specific function during the original shipbuilding is the hoist tower located in the Arsenale’s main gate, the Porta Nuova, an impressive masonry construction built from the French dominators during the early 1800’s, similarly to existing buildings in the Northern Europe. It is about 35 m tall and it is composed by brick masonry and Istria’s stone inserts, with trapezoidal base. The evolution in the naval construction technique reduced its function until a total abandon, especially after the realization of a quay all around it, still existing nowadays. In the paper, preliminary investigations (historical documentation, direct survey, experimental characterization of masonry physical and mechanical properties, detection of damage and deterioration conditions), as well as structural analysis developed for the tower are presented. The mechanical interpretation and the safety assessment were performed through the implementation of several models of the Tower with different Finite Element procedures, taking into account both the linear and non-linear masonry behaviour.

Structural assessment of the Hoist Tower of the Arsenal of Venice

VALLUZZI, MARIA ROSA;MODENA, CLAUDIO;
2006

Abstract

The Arsenale of Venice is a naval shipyard that played a leading role in the Venetian empire, representing a large but little known monumental complex of exceptional historical value. It was one of the most important areas of Venice, vital for the economy of the Serenissima republic for many centuries. A structure having a very specific function during the original shipbuilding is the hoist tower located in the Arsenale’s main gate, the Porta Nuova, an impressive masonry construction built from the French dominators during the early 1800’s, similarly to existing buildings in the Northern Europe. It is about 35 m tall and it is composed by brick masonry and Istria’s stone inserts, with trapezoidal base. The evolution in the naval construction technique reduced its function until a total abandon, especially after the realization of a quay all around it, still existing nowadays. In the paper, preliminary investigations (historical documentation, direct survey, experimental characterization of masonry physical and mechanical properties, detection of damage and deterioration conditions), as well as structural analysis developed for the tower are presented. The mechanical interpretation and the safety assessment were performed through the implementation of several models of the Tower with different Finite Element procedures, taking into account both the linear and non-linear masonry behaviour.
2006
Restoration of Heritage Masonry Structures
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11577/2433274
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