Rebuilding after the earthquake: earthquake-resistant construction techniques in Sicily in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

This essay attempts to offer a contribution on earthquake-resistant techniques employed in Sicily between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, through a comparative study of construction practices, after three earth-quakes: that of 1726 in Palermo, that of 1818 in the Etna area, and that of 1823 in the north-western part of the island. Research is based on a cross study of iconographic and bibliographic sources (manuscripts, printed works by coeval authors and treatises), and new archival documents, which return general views of damage to towns hit by earthquake and many expert analyses of individual architectures. Through an analysis of certain case studies, systematic study of sources, integrated by inspection of the sites, will make it possible to analyse the technologies applied to consolidate and restore buildings. The paper also shows persistences and innova-tions, contributing to outline the development of an earthquake-resistant technical culture.