Title: Protection of artworks to blast hazards: the Fountain of Neptune in Florence

Authors: Marco Domaneschi; Marco Tanganelli; Stefania Viti; Gian Paolo Cimellaro

Addresses: Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering (DISEG), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy ' Department of Architecture (DIDA), University of Florence, Via della Mattonaia 14, 50121 Firenze, Italy ' Department of Architecture (DIDA), University of Florence, Via della Mattonaia 14, 50121 Firenze, Italy ' Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering (DISEG), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy

Abstract: Artworks have a fundamental role in the cultural and economic status of communities. Their protection, therefore, is a fundamental goal. For the most part, artefacts are conserved in museums, which oversee their maintenance and exposure. Despite such protection, however, acts of vandalism can occur, threatening the integrity of the artworks. Artworks with an outdoor location are at increased risk of vandalism since they cannot be highly guarded. In this work, the protection of artworks to blast hazards was checked for the Fountain of Neptune located in the 'Piazza della Signoria' in Florence. The dynamic response of the statue of Neptune to a blast was checked by performing a finite element (FE) analysis and by considering a simplified equivalent load. Special attention was paid to the limit capacity of the case study and the assumed restraint at the sculpture base.

Keywords: Ammannati's sculptures; artifacts; dynamic analysis; FE models; sculpture; blast hazard; dynamic response of sculptures; fountain of Neptune.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2023.129556

International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation, 2023 Vol.8 No.2/3, pp.248 - 262

Received: 26 Apr 2021
Accepted: 11 Oct 2021
Published online: 14 Mar 2023 *

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