Damage and Interventions to Historical Masonry Buildings: Good and Ill Practices

This paper presents typical damage observed during recent earthquakes in Türkiye and elsewhere, along with their qualitative interpretation revealing the main weaknesses of existing stone masonry buildings. Historical structural systems, having a stone masonry ground storey and upper storeys made of timber framed masonry are also included. Strengthening techniques, frequently applied to alleviate the inherent inadequacies of stone masonry buildings are commented on, while their rationale, their efficiency and the effect of their misuse are presented, based on field observations after recent earthquakes and/or experimental results. The paper focuses on good and ill practices with the purpose of opening the discussion on the selection of adequate intervention techniques that may ensure an improved seismic behaviour, thus protecting human lives and property and contributing to the preservation of the built cultural heritage.