Orvieto, about 100 km north of Rome, was built by the Etruscans on a massive rock of limited extension, a relict left by the erosion of the Alfina tuffaceous plateau. The latter was produced in the Pleistocene by the magmatic activity of the “Vulsin Apparatus” in northern Latium. The bedrock of the Rock of Orvieto is composed of Plio-Pleistocene marine clays which, owing to their high erodibility, represent a sinking substratum, causing falls and topples which have affected the edges of the cliff since historical times. Along with the installation of a complex monitoring system of piezometers, inclinometers and extensometers stationed along all the cliff edge, stabilization works were carried out, consisting of nails, anchors (passive in the upper portion and active in the basal portion of the Rock), drain pipes and waterproofing works for avoiding water infiltration into the rocky mass.
The Rock of Orvieto (Umbria, Central Italy)
CENCETTI, Corrado;CONVERSINI, Pietro;TACCONI, Paolo
2005
Abstract
Orvieto, about 100 km north of Rome, was built by the Etruscans on a massive rock of limited extension, a relict left by the erosion of the Alfina tuffaceous plateau. The latter was produced in the Pleistocene by the magmatic activity of the “Vulsin Apparatus” in northern Latium. The bedrock of the Rock of Orvieto is composed of Plio-Pleistocene marine clays which, owing to their high erodibility, represent a sinking substratum, causing falls and topples which have affected the edges of the cliff since historical times. Along with the installation of a complex monitoring system of piezometers, inclinometers and extensometers stationed along all the cliff edge, stabilization works were carried out, consisting of nails, anchors (passive in the upper portion and active in the basal portion of the Rock), drain pipes and waterproofing works for avoiding water infiltration into the rocky mass.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
