An Analysis Procedure for the Surviving Rural Architecture, Built with Raw Earth Mortars, in the Amatrice Area (Italy) as a Starting Point for the Development of Conservation Strategies

Abstract

The contribution of this article is that it provides indications for the conservation of the surviving architecture in the Amatrice area, which was severely affected by the long seismic sequence between 2016 and 2017. The traditional construction technique was carefully studied during the safety works that were carried out in the villages from 2018 to 2020. From the studies conducted, it emerged that most of the historical building fabrics date to a post-seismic reconstruction phase of the seventeenth–eighteenth century. The masonry construction technique found on the site is homogeneous throughout the area and is based on the use of local sandstone and raw earth mortars. The mineralogical nature of the materials used for building was identified by means of specific diagnostic analyses as well as the production processes of the materials. An interpretation of the use of different materials and processes was provided by cross-referencing the analytical results with the existing data on the seismic history and on the geographical and geological characteristics of the territory; additionally, an interpretation of the development of the local historical construction techniques was provided as well. Defining conservation strategies for buildings that are still recoverable is an important objective that is aimed at safeguarding the material evidence of the local construction tradition. The same conservation strategies could be pre-emptively adopted in similar rural contexts.

Keywords

• raw earth
• earthquake
• conservation
• building techniques