Approfondimenti storico-critici attraverso strumenti multidisciplinari: Ascanio Vitozzi progettista di cupole

The presented research experience concerns the role of structural analyses – conducted through Finite Element Models (FEM) – interpreted as sources for critical and historical in-depth investigations into construction events of complex buildings. Such models are commonly used in engineering field for structural assessment because they efficiently provide the simulations of the real structural behaviour of buildings. A possible use of these models in the field of Architectural history is a methodological reflection begun during my PhD in Cultural and Landscape Heritage at the Politecnico di Torino. This approach – supported by the relevant case study of the Sanctuary of Vicoforte (Cn), designed by Ascanio Vitozzi – was developed during my post-doctoral research years in Architectural history. In this period, a preliminary integration between structural models and historical analyses, above all in the case of lack of traditional sources, was implemented. The methodological approach provided an improvement of knowledge and new interpretation scenarios.