Monitoraggio strutturale e conoscenza storico-costruttiva dell’architettura: il caso del Patriarcato di Pec; in Kosovo

Today, the Patriarchate of Pe?-Peje in Kosovo appears as an elaborate complex of four different churches connected to one another, together with a narthex; the main building is almost completely faced with coloured or frescoed plaster. The obvious deformations and the large number of cracks, clearly visible inside the building, point to the instability of the masonry; checking and evaluating the problem requires careful design of the methodology for the survey. Serbian experts have closely examined the documentation relating to the building and have analysed the nature and dates of the many pictorial phases, providing important clues for identifying the main construction sites from the 13th century onwards. Close study of the extensive documentation (graphic, photographic and written) relating to a major restoration project in the 1930s helped to identify the nature and distribution of many structural features introduced at that time. The current condition of the external masonry wall, restored just a few years ago, has provided further information making it possible to check the stratification of the existing construction. Careful comparison of all the historical and construction data has made it possible to put together a clear picture from the annual monitoring of the main lesions throughout the building, in order to understand the effective scale of structural deterioration. By examining the specific case of the orthodox religious monument, the paper printed here takes into account the continuous links between research into history and construction, and the structural features of the old building, highlighting the need to operate through a joint multidisciplinary project – the only way of interpreting and giving significance to the data gathered, in terms of quality and quantity.