Integrated evaluation of the Church of S. Nicola di Mira: Conservation versus safety

Most of cultural heritage was built using rules of art that frequently ensured durability and structural safety. Nevertheless, several buildings underwent noteworthy modification over the centuries, and sometimes unsuitable retrofit that added up to unavoidable decay and damage due to natural disasters, e.g. earthquake or landslide. Under these conditions, the heritage conservation can clash with the structural safety, and the conflict is mostly emphasized if the building is located into seismic areas. The decision between the most feasible and adequate restoration requires wide information about the structure and about the different elements of the buildings. Accurate studies of cultural heritage structures need the application of combined non-destructive techniques, historic and structural knowledge also being fundamental. An example is the “S. Nicola di Mira” Church in Centola-Palinuro. The church suffered significant damage during the last century; the façade had got a sizable overturning, involving the longitudinal walls that lost their verticality, and forced the gable to be demolished in 2006. This paper describes the use of several NDT testing and discusses results from the combined techniques, for supporting the diagnosis of cultural heritage prior and during to the intervention.