Timber Coverings of the Palatine Chapel in Caserta Royal Palace

The analysis of the timber covering structure of Palatine Chapel in the Royal Palace of Caserta, built in the eighteenth century by Luigi Vanvitelli, is the object of the present study. The interpretation of its structural behaviour has been based upon a detailed survey and visual as well as non destructive inspections. Results of decay analysis have shown presence of confined damaged areas, which in any case do not induce exceeding safety limits, or loss of serviceability. At the aim of understanding the designing process followed by the architect in deciding the best disposition of the structural elements and specifically in choosing the slope of the underlining inclined posts more efficient to optimize structural behaviour, a comparative analysis has been done on different theoretical schemes obtained varying that slope. Numerical results evidence how little modification on Vanvitelli’s scheme will not leave the same safety margins.