Nowadays it is widely recognized that structural interventions on cultural heritage
buildings shall comply with the minimum intervention principle. The main goal is to enhance
the structural capacity respecting, at the same time, the authenticity of the monument. As such,
the correct interpretation of the current damage is a first fundamental step in the design of an
efficient structural intervention. Within this framework, the paper presents the results of an in
depth investigation carried out to assess the structural capacity of a complex monument
affected by several deficiencies. The case study is the convent of Saint Domenico, a seventeenth
century’s masonry structure, belonging to the traditional architectural typology of the court
building. The building is located in Maiori, a small town in the Amalfi Coast (Italy), included
in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997 for its great cultural and naturalistic interest.
The structure was abandoned during the 80s, and currently presents an extensive and diffuse
crack pattern that is the consequence of several causes such as: the natural aging of material,
the lack of maintenance, the modifications occurred during the centuries, the seismic events
occurred in the past and the poor quality of the foundation soil. In this paper, starting from the
knowledge acquisition path of the whole Convent, a special focus on the structural behavior of
the East wing is provided. A numerical model of a cross section of the wing has been developed
and analyzed considering the effects of lateral loads and settlements. The numerical analyses
are carried out using LiaBlock_3D, an in-house software tool for the limit equilibrium analysis
of rigid block assemblages. Results of the analyses are discussed in details and a comparison
with the actual crack pattern of the structure is provided as well
