Vibration-based SHM for cultural heritage preservation: the case of the S. Pietro bell-tower in Perugia

In the present work, multivariate statistical analysis techniques are newly applied in the field of condition assessment of cultural heritage structures. More specifically, the paper presents the design and the implementation of an SHM system for the bell-tower of the Basilica of San Pietro, one of the most relevant monuments of the city of Perugia, Italy. The system comprises three high-sensitivity accelerometers permanently installed on top of the tower and a remote server that automatically processes the data so as to acquire modal parameters and to use such information for novelty analysis and health assessment. In the paper, after a brief description of the permanent monitoring system installed on the structure and of the adopted SHM strategy, the results of the first months of continuous monitoring are presented. Later on, the potential capability of the aforementioned statistical techniques in damage detection is verified by using the continuously identified eigenfrequencies of the bell tower.