Study and monitoring for conservation of Sanctuary of Santa Maria Assunta at Monteortone (Abano Terme, Padova)

摘要

The Sanctuary of Monteortone, built at the foot of the Euganean Hills near the city ofrnPadova (NE Italy), is one of the most significant examples of Paduan architecture, painting and sculpturernof the 15th century.The Sanctuary is a Latin cross-shaped building, consisting of a nave and two aisles,rnsupported by masonry pillars and covered with a cross-vault with pointed arches. The façade is dividedrninto three parts by masonry pilasters, with two centrally placed round windows. The bell-tower, of thernsame century, rises with thick pilasters and repeated small arches.rnThe first reports of significant damage due to settlement and rotation of the façade and pillarsrn(a horizontal differential displacement of about 20 cm was measured between the top and base of thernpillars immediately behind the façade) date back to August 1902, when the Sanctuary was closed to thernpublic and substantial consolidation work began. Later, in 1934 and again in 1957 and 1966, new damagernwas reported and required further interventions. In 1975 the church was closed because of the danger ofrncollapse, and further restoration works were carried out on the structure and its foundations.rnThis paper examines the various interventions carried out during the Sanctuary’s history, the effects ofrnrestorations and the results of geotechnical studies. Results of tests on structural elements and monitoringrndata (temperature, cracking, tilting), collected during 2004–2005, are also presented. This work, carriedrnout in order to check the development of cracking in some structural elements, allowed the behaviour ofrnthe building to be analysed within the perspective of new restoration work.