Assessment of seismic vulnerability of art objects: The “Galleria dei Prigioni” sculptures at the Accademia Gallery in Florence

The seismic assessment of art objects requires a multidisciplinary approach and the definition of a specific methodology for evaluating the level of safety and the possible interventions necessary for seismic risk prevention, finding a compromise between safety and conservation. This paper describes a first step in this direction, in which the different aspects of the procedure, from knowledge path of the art object to the structural analysis, were studied in the six Michelangelo's statues located in the “Galleria dei Prigioni” (Slaves’ Gallery) at the Accademia Gallery of Florence. We showed that the general principles and criteria expressed in the “Italian Guidelines for evaluation and mitigation of seismic-risk to cultural heritage”, which are specifically devoted to masonry constructions, could be profitably extended to other artworks, like statues, starting from historical research, geometrical survey and material characterization, up to the developing of specific methods of analysis. This research could be the base for future studies to be performed concerning the prevention of seismic damage of art objects, including both bare minimum interventions and specific devices, such as isolation systems.