Italy

The seismic evaluation of art objects requires a multidisciplinary approach and the definition of a methodology to assess the level of safety and the possible interventions necessary for the prevention of seismic risk, seeking a compromise between safety and conservation. This article describes a first step in this direction, in which the different aspects of the procedure, from the path of knowledge of the art object to the structural analysis, were studied on the six statues of Michelangelo located in the "Galleria dei Prigioni" (Slaves Gallery) of the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence. We have shown that the general principles and criteria expressed in the "Italian Guidelines for the evaluation and mitigation of seismic risk of cultural heritage", which are specifically dedicated to masonry constructions, could be usefully extended to other works of art such as statues, starting from historical research, geometrical study and characterization of materials, to the development of specific methods of analysis. This research could be the basis for future studies on the prevention of seismic damage to art objects, including minimal interventions and specific devices, such as isolation systems.