Knowing to preserve. For a history seismic of Norcia from 18th to 19th century

Norcia (Umbria, Italy) is characterized by a medieval urban structure in which traces of the ancient Roman settlement can still be seen. The urban transformations that took place in the 16th century mainly concerned the ‘Piazza Maggiore’ (currently called ‘Piazza S. Benedetto’), the political-administrative and religious center of Norcia. However, these transformations have not completely erased the original urban structure of the town, which remained legible even after the interventions carried out following the disastrous earthquakes of the eighteenth century: in fact the road alignments and the dimensions of ancient public spaces were maintained, reducing however the height of buildings. Following the violent earthquake in 1859, Pope Pius IX commissioned a commission to draw up an intervention plan for the reconstruction and expansion of the city. However, the ambitious project was not completed due to the annexation of Norcia to the Kingdom of Italy (1861). Only later, to adapt the city to the needs of “modernity”, were interventions that have partially modified the urban structure. The contribution specifically analyzes restorations, techniques, ways used in reconstructions after seismic events occurred in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, trying to highlight those constructive peculiarities whose knowledge is now indispensable for the definition of a correct operational practice, which also takes into account how it was done in the past.