This project for the Santissima Annunziata Church focused on restoring accessibility after the 2009 earthquake, and a broader restoration and seismic retrofit: on the one hand to contrast the principal phenomena of collapse caused by the earthquake and, on the other hand, to recalibrate a previous intervention completed during the 1990s. The work completed in the area of the presbytery was by far the most complex. This area had suffered a concerning level of damage, aggravated by difficulties inherent to the geometry of this area and criticalities inherent to the building. The depressions visible on the underside of the vault immediately suggested the need for a perimeter beam to ensure the correct behaviour of the masonry structure. A weakly reinforced beam was added on the extrados of the vault, surmounted by a steel perimeter plate. A C-shaped steel profile was applied to the chancel arch, anchored to the masonry at the midpoint of its depth and integrated, in relation to its ability to support and contrast thrusting actions, by a system of exposed tie rods. Along the entire perimeter of the nave, the concrete ring beam was substituted by a weakly reinforced masonry beam (with two-dimensional trusses) connected to the dry laid masonry below by reinforced pins, set in steel saddles holding the ends of the existing trusses. The new beam also runs the length of the façade tympanum, held in place by the insertion of the secondary roofing elements in sliding steel saddles, which avoid any hammering action against the masonry. All of the perimeter masonry walls were reinforced though an extensive campaign to inject natural lime mortar.
