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The present study concerns the structural analysis of the masonry vaulted stairs of the Santa Maria delle Vigne bell tower in Genoa (Italy). The vaulted staircase systems are fully analysed in terms of technological and constructive details. The 3D geometric models are defined from laser scanner data. The structural analyses were carried out by using both the equilibrium limit analysis and a static incremental FEM analysis. Despite the efficacy of classic equilibrium methods in analysing arched and vaulted structures is largely proved in literature, this study demonstrates that vaulted staircase systems often collapse because of compressive failure of masonry before losing stability.

The concept of vulnerability of the existing building stock is receiving increasing awareness and central importance in the scientific community working in earthquake risk mitigation. This assumes even more relevance when dealing with heritage structures located in relevant seismic hazard zones. This paper aims to identify and describe the earthquake-resistant features found in a unique masonry church in Ischia (Italy), and discuss their effectiveness on the impact of the post-seismic damage through the application of non-linear static analyses. The Santa Maria Maddalena Church represents one of the rare examples in which the technology of the Borbonic casa Baraccata (mixed timber−masonry construction), already well-known in the literature for its use in Italian seismic areas since the eighteenth century, is applied with the non-conventional combination of masonry and iron frames. The church was struck by the recent earthquake of 21 August 2017 with epicentre in Casamicciola Terme. The recorded post-seismic damage of the church evidenced non-relevant structural crack patterns, which are likely to be related to the efficacy of the construction system adopted.

This paper investigates the structural behaviour of masonry vaulted staircases and the efficacy of different modelling strategies for the assessment of their structural safety. In particular, the present study focuses on the structural analysis of the masonry vaulted stairs of the medieval Santa Maria delle Vigne bell tower in Genoa (Italy), dating back from XVI to XVII Century. Both a limit analysis tool and a static incremental analysis using a finite element model are adopted. The limit analysis problem is formulated for a rigid block model using an iterative solution procedure to take into account crushing failure. Results indicate that crushing failure is crucial in capturing the response of this structural typology.