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STATIC CONTROL OF PALAZZO DELLA RAGIONE IN PADUA
Alberto Giussani - Politecnico di Milano - Facoltà di Ingegneria di Lecco -
Dipartimento di I.I.A.R. sezione Rilevamento
Corso Matteotti, 3 - 23900 LECCO (ITALY)
e.mail: alberto.giussani@polimi.it
Giorgio Vassena - Università degli Studi di Brescia, Dip. di Ingegneria Civile
v. Branze 38, 25123 BRESCIA (ITALY)
e.mail: vassena@bsing.ing.unibs.it
ISPRS - WG VI/3
KEY WORDS: static control, building monitoring
ABSTRACT
In these years a large number of structures and historical buildings have been subjected to static continuous
monitoring. The technology is having a quick development also in these applications following the
development in industrial automation. The control of the “Palazzo della Ragione” in Padua is a valid example
of the use of both automatic with sensors and topographic approaches.
1. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
The “Palazzo della Ragione” in Padua is well
known as one of the most remarkable European
buildings built in the XIII century. In fact the
construction began in the year 1218. Since its
foundation the palace has been the center of the
commercial, civil and giustice life of Padua until
the year 1797. Between the years 1306 and 1308
Giovanni degli Emeritani transformed the big three
original halls, in a big hall 82 meters long and 27
meters large, creating the big cover having the
shape of an upside-down ship. Unfortunately a big
fire destroyed the palace and its original paintings
in 1420.
2. AN UP TO DATE APPROACH TO
RESTORATION
The static control of the palace is to be considered
as a part of the general program of restauraron of
the Palazzo della Ragione and is charaterized by
two main needs: the first one is the study of the
behaviour of the structure under the effects of
external parameters as air temperature,
subsidence, the second one voted mainly to
analise safety problems.
The first need birth from the absolute lack of data
about the behaviour of the movements and the
deformations that for sure are active in the
monumental structure. In fact the effects of these
deformations are clearly visible both locally as
fessures in the walls, detaching of materials,
disalignments, and globally with the clear opening
of the longitudinal walls of the big hall. The
knowledge of the movements driven in the
structure by external causes are nowdays
considered as an essential datum, as the
geometric shape of the building, the chemical and
phisycal characteristics of the wall and foudation
materials, for the definition of any modern
restauration and conservation program.
The growing of these basic knowledge of the
structure help the task of the restoration works,
because makes also more impartial the
interpretation of the degradation phenomena dei
fenomeni di degrado and makes always more
appropiate and documentable every program of
restauration work.
Not only the world composed by the restoration-
technichant agree with the need of a scientific
approach to the planning of all the restauration
and conservation works. These is particulary
evident looking at the last years papers having as
main topic the more ancient buildings.
Therefore following the best approach to a
restoration work, the static control needs to know
the behaviour of the structure both before and
during the conservation works. In particular the
link between the reactions of the structure to the
temperatures changes, to the different values of
sinking of the foundations, the solicitations of the
structure due to the snow and to the wind and to