Structural health monitoring of the Basilica S. Maria di Collemaggio'

The work deals with the main findings obtained during the development of a permanent structural health monitoring system for a monumental church, the Basilica S. Maria di Collemaggio, strongly damaged by the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. Ongoing studies on the causes of the partial collapse occurred in the transept area have accompanied the monitoring system design and field testing. Benefits and critical issues related with the use of wireless sensor networks technology are analyzed in the specific case of monumental buildings monitoring. The specific features of the implemented system, designed to detect low-amplitude earthquake-induced vibrations, are discussed. Information obtained during one-year data acquisition is summarized together with critical observations on the operating system.