Site characterization and seismic response analysis of the cliff overlooking the St. Eutizio Abbey, Central Italy

The objective of the paper is to investigate the amplification phenomena that could be partly responsible of the collapse of the bell tower of St. Eutizio Abbey during the 2016 Central Italy seismic sequence, following the landslide of the cliff over which the structure was erected. Based on the results of a specific geotechnical and geophysical investigation, a 2D numerical model was set up. Visco-elastic linear using Ricker wavelet and equivalent linear analyses using recorded acceleration time-history at a nearby site allowed to recognize the paramount importance of stratigraphic effects when compared to the topographic effects at the slope.