Geotechnics and Heritage. Historic Towers

Experience gained over the years proves the exposure of cultural heritage to a variety of geotechnical risks. This poses the problem of conceiving and implementing remedial measures preserving that immaterial value represented by the integrity of the single monument or the “diffuse cultural heritage”, that is the goal of any conservation intervention. In addition, it must be kept in mind that each monument or historic site is an “unicum” in itself, neither repeatable nor reproducible. This volume “Geotechnics and Heritage. Historic Towers and Geotechnics”, moves along this path and collects well documented case histories of towers (i.e. slender structures transmitting high loads to the subsoil) of historic relevance that had or have geotechnical problems. The outcome is an interesting picture of the variety of geotechnical problems that an historic tower may have to face in its life.