Italian Middle Byzantine Churches: A Comparison Through Masonry Quality Analysis

ABSTRACT

The work focuses on the structural properties of two Byzantine churches built during the 11^th century in Torcello (Venice Laguna) and Stilo (east coast of Calabria). Despite the large distance between the two religious buildings and deep differences in the building typology, some common features are detectable, recalling the construction solutions of the Byzantine structures. Both churches, well known from an historical and artistic point of view, represent two important examples of the Byzantine period. The authors, involved in a vulnerability analysis of these buildings, had the opportunity to investigate some structural characteristics of the masonry walls through non-destructive tests (NDT). The results of the experimental campaign are presented here in order to contribute to the knowledge of Byzantine constructive systems.

KEYWORDS:

• Byzantine churches
• direct sonic tests
• La Cattolica
• masonry quality
• NDT
• Santa Fosca

Acknowledgments

Authors wish to thank the Patriarcato di Venezia and the Superintendence of Reggio Calabria for their support and for kindly supplying the geometrical surveys. The precious help of Mr. Marco Cucchi, Testing Materials Laboratory of Politecnico di Milano, is gratefully acknowledged. This work is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend prof. Luigia Binda.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.