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The Borbone “Istruzioni per Gli Ingegnieri” : A Historical Code for Earthquake-Resistant Constructions

2016; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 11; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/15583058.2016.1212128

1558-3066

Nicola Ruggieri,

3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage

The paper examines the instructions (Istruzioni and Suggerimenti) issued by order of Ferdinando IV of Borbone, King of Naples, in 1783 soon after the terrible earthquake that hit the Calabria Ulteriore region. The tremor had disastrous consequences on the morphology of the territory and on the local economy also making 30.000 human victims. The code was drawn by the two supervisors of the public works in the Calabria region, La Vega and Winspeare. It touches several points of building policy such as hygienic precautions, city planning, measures of civil protection and administrative rules for the distribution of soils for the reconstruction of the ruined estates. The very interesting point is that the document contains updated indications for the best practice of building in a zone with high seismicity, based on the most advanced theories of the time in the field of earthquake-resistant constructions. The document suggests to keep low the height of the new buildings, forbids the construction of vaults and prescribes the construction of a timber frame to be built into the masonry walls with the aim of connecting the various walls of the building and achieve a box behaviour of the whole construction. Furthermore, indications deal with the best practice for increasing the durability of the internal timber frame.