Dynamic analysis of a historical fortified tower

The present paper is centered on the static and dynamic analysis of the fortified tower of San Felice sul Panaro (Italy) citadel. The examined tower, that dated back to the XIV century, is particularly vulnerable to seismic forces, as the recent Emilia Romagna earthquake (2012) has demonstrated, and can be considered representative of a wide class of masonry towers located in the north of Italy. In order to evaluate the structural behavior, detailed numerical models of the tower with different level of complexity have been defined. In particular, the present paper shows the preliminary results of the static and dynamic analysis performed on such models and the influence of some parameters on the tower dynamic behavior.