From:
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Hess, M., V. Petrovic, M. Yeager, and F. Kuester. 2018. Terrestrial laser scanning for the comprehensive structural health assessment of the baptistery di san giovanni in florence, italy: An integrative methodology for repeatable data acquisition, visualization and analysis. Structure and Infrastructure Engineering 14 (2):247–63. doi:10.1080/15732479.2017.1349810
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The Baptistery di San Giovanni, or the Florence Baptistery, is a minor basilica adjacent to the duomo in Florence, Italy (Figure 1; Txllxt (Citation2017)). As one of the oldest buildings in the city, this structure has changed in both form and function over time. While the earliest historicalreference to the baptistery itself is in 897 AD, the foundations predate the superstructure; sections are from a Roman construction dating back to the 3rd century AD (Hess et al. Citation2018).

Having been at the center of art, history, and controversy throughout the evolution of Florence, the Baptistery di San Giovanni became an iconic monument of the city that is cherished by locals and tourists. To preserve such an old and complex structure requires a detailed and data-driven understanding of the forces at play; in the case of heterogeneous masonry structures, this task is frequently very difficult.

The Baptistery is a quasi-symmetrical octagonal structure with a corresponding series of eight curved ceiling panels that make up the cupola, or dome, of the building. The structure of this dome is comprised of an inner curved structure and an outer flatter structure that serves as the roof; these two dome shells are tied together with periodic masonry ribs. Beneath the Baptistery is a partially excavated Roman villa which reveals portions of the foundation that supports the Baptistery walls above.

Through the many years of its rich history, the foundation walls of this structure have incurred a large amount of cracking. In this article, a combination of laser scanning and finite-distinct element modeling (FDEM) are used to identify potential causes of this cracking on the southwest wall (indicated with a red rectangle in Figure 2) (Hess et al. Citation2018; Napoltano et al. Citation2019a). By identifying what most probably caused existing cracks on this structure, the best routes for preservation and stability analysis can be established.

