THE INTERDISCIPLINARITY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE PROJECTS: PROJECT TO SECURE AND ENHANCE THE SANCTUARY OF S. MICHELE IN OLEVANO SUL TUSCIANO AND THE ACCESSIBILITY SYSTEM

The project to secure and enhance the Sanctuary of San Michele in Olevano sul Tusciano was an important initiative for the protection of a valuable historical, archaeological and natural heritage.

The relevance of interdisciplinary aspects in projects is crucial to ensure more comprehensive, innovative and sustainable solutions. In a complex project context, the integration of expertise from different disciplines allows multiple challenges to be addressed and resources and results to be optimized. For example, in cultural heritage securing and enhancement projects are vital to ensure a comprehensive and sustainable approach. Safeguarding cultural heritage requires the collaboration of experts from diverse fields, including architecture, engineering, art history, archaeology, geology, and digital technologies. Architects and engineers, for example, are key to designing structural solutions that ensure the stability and safety of historic buildings, while art historians and archaeologists provide the expertise needed to understand the cultural and historical value of the property, ensuring that any intervention respects the integrity and authenticity of the heritage. In addition, the use of advanced technologies such as laser scanning and photogrammetry, which require collaboration with experts in geomatics and computer science, allows the state of conservation to be documented and monitored in a precise and non-invasive manner. This integrated approach makes it possible to combine heritage protection with heritage enhancement, while promoting public usability and long-term sustainability. In sum, synergy between different disciplines is essential to ensure that securing and enhancement projects are effective, respectful, and able to preserve and transmit cultural values to future generations.

 

PROJECT GOALS

In the project of securing and enhancing the Sanctuary of St. Michael in Olevano sul Tusciano, the objective of the interventions is risk mitigation for securing, including through the implementation of a suitable monitoring system of the access routes to the Cave, also in terms of expert territorial garrison.

Specifically, the project includes the following interventions:

1. maintenance and upgrading of access roads to the cave – Road section STRD02;

2. securing the slopes facing the access road STRD02;

3. securing of areas facing the cave;

4. upgrading and maintenance of facilities and structures for safe access to the cave;

5. sheltering and enhancement of archaeological and cultural elements found in the cave.

Maintenance and upgrading of road section STD02

The main intervention concerns the upgrading of the access road, the STRD02 road section, which has been consolidated with a new paving system, a drainage system for stormwater management, and landscaping of the area by setting up wire mesh gabionades and wickerwork and/or mixed wood/steel palisades.

At the same time, the slopes bordering the route and the areas facing the cave were secured through containment works, rockfall barriers and stabilization works to reduce the risk of landslides.

Slope safety system

Una A key part of the project concerns the securing of slopes through rockfall barriers and weirs.

Specifically, for the rockfall barriers, finite difference analyses based on rigid body dynamics models were conducted to evaluate falling body behavior. This approach uses the equations of motion and kinematics, assuming an instantaneous contact period and the contact region between the colliding bodies is very small. This method turns out to be fast enough for real-time simulation of multiple falling bodies (Curran et.al. 2006), and the parameters required for numerical simulation are measurable and intuitive; in addition to the shape, mass, and velocity of the individual blocks, knowledge of the static and dynamic friction angles and the coefficient of restitution CR with which the block dissipates energy for each collision and/or rebound is required.

For the purposes of the design and verification of the rockfall barriers, Trajec3D software (Frans Basson, version 1.7.2.7) was used to analyze the motion of rigid bodies by simulating the trajectory under free-fall conditions, bouncing, sliding and rolling of the stone blocks. This made it possible to evaluate the scenarios and potential paths that the rocks could have followed, the time required to reach the attention areas, and the estimated energy stored along the trajectory. Numerical simulations were conducted based on the 3D profile of the slope, obtained by triangulation from the DTM model.

The choice of the rockfall barrier was conducted and verified on the basis of the results obtained from an extensive parametric analysis aimed at estimating the maximum energy that the passive protection intervention had to be able to dissipate in stopping the stone blocks that might detach from the rock faces.

Calculation model

The project was conducted using Trajec3D calculation software for the purpose of determining the maximum energy, which depends on:

– design boulder;

– static and dynamic friction angles of the design boulder material;

– velocities and kinetic energies along the path and at impact.

For each barrier, 6 theoretical geometric types were considered for the boulders, with two different masses: 0.1 ton and 1.0 ton.

The following is an example of the analysis conducted for rockfall barrier No. 1.

For these trajectories, the trends of kinetic energies for the 0.1t mass case and the 1.0t mass case are shown below.

Mass of 0.1 ton

The maximum energy at the barrier was found to be 26.0kJ.

Mass of 1 ton

The maximum energy at the barrier was found to be 470.4kJ.

For this barrier, the design provided a class 4 barrier with energy absorption greater than 1000kJ, a length of 24.0m and a height of 3.50m. The design table for the RB 1000 rockfall barrier is attached.

Securing the areas facing the cave.

The areas facing the cave and those subjected to the installation of rockfall barriers will be properly arranged by preparing all the rock walls affecting the area through cleaning operations and removal of elements and boulders in precarious equilibrium, and by carrying out mountain slope clearing with the help of rock climbers in order to remove volumes of rock in precarious equilibrium, to prevent collapses and preserve the medieval frescoes in the sanctuary.

Upgrading and maintenance of facilities

Upgrading and maintenance of facilities are planned.

Upgrading and maintenance of the cave’s safe access facilities

It is planned to upgrade the walkways inside the cave by replacing, in true shape and size, the steel staircase that provides access to the chapels, to ensure a safer and easier visit.

Shelter and enhancement of archaeological and cultural elements found in the cave

In parallel, the project focused on enhancing the site’s rich archaeological heritage by building a multimedia center to enable visitors to have an immersive experience through 3-D reconstructions, sounds and historical animations, making the shrine accessible even to those who cannot physically travel to the site. In addition, some spaces have been refunctionalized to house a permanent exhibition of the artifacts found in the cave.

 

All interventions were designed in compliance with environmental and landscape constraints, with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency.

A sophisticated monitoring system was installed to constantly check the stability of the site and prevent any critical issues.

The initiative was a perfect example of interdisciplinarity and balance between innovation and conservation, with the goal of making the Sanctuary of San Michele safer and more usable, without altering its millennial charm. An ambitious project that combined protection of the past and technologies of the future, returning to the community and visitors a place of extraordinary historical, spiritual and cultural value.

 

Download the design table here

Software: https://trajec3d.software.informer.com/1.7/

 

REFERENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LEGISLATION

[1] ETAG 027 “Guideline for European Technical Approval of Falling Rock Protection Kits” (Linee Guida per il Benestare Tecnico Europeo di kit di protezione contro la caduta di massi);

[2] D. M. Infrastrutture Trasporti 17/01/2018 (G.U. 20/02/2018 n. 42 – Suppl. Ord. n. 8) “Aggiornamento delle Norme tecniche per le Costruzioni”.

[3] Circolare 21 gennaio 2019, n. 7 C.S.LL.PP. (G.U. Serie Generale n. 35 del 11/02/2019 – Suppl. Ord. n. 5) Istruzioni per l’applicazione dell’«Aggiornamento delle “Norme tecniche per le costruzioni”» di cui al decreto ministeriale 17 gennaio 2018.

[4] UNI EN 10264-2, Fili e prodotti trafilati di acciaio – Filo di acciaio per funi – Filo di acciaio non legato trafilato a freddo per funi per applicazioni generali;

[5] UNI ISO 1461 Rivestimenti di zincatura per immersione a caldo su prodotti finiti ferrosi e articoli di acciaio. Specificazioni e metodi di prova;

[6] UNI EN12385, Funi di acciaio – Sicurezza;

[7] UNI EN 10244-2, Fili e prodotti trafilati di acciaio – Rivestimenti metallici non ferrosi sui fili di acciaio – Rivestimenti di zinco o di leghe di zinco.

[8] UNI EN 10219 “Profilati cavi formati a freddo di acciai non legati e a grano fine per strutture saldate”;

[9] UNI EN 10025-2 “Prodotti laminati a caldo di acciai non legati per impieghi strutturali – Condizioni tecniche di fornitura”;

[10] UNI EN 10223-3 “Fili e prodotti trafilati di acciaio per recinzioni – Reti di acciaio a maglie esagonali per impieghi industriali

[11] norme generali per gli impianti elettrici C.E.I. 11-1 (1999);

[12] norme C.E.I. 11-7 (1992) – Impianti di produzione, trasporto, distribuzione di energia elettrica. Linee in cavo;

[13] norme C.E.I. 11-8 (1992) – Impianti di messa a terra.