Proposal of an innovative model for fire prevention assessment in Cultural Heritage Protection. Research study in Italy

The complexity of cultural heritage has often led to the belief that fire safety regulations enacted for civil constructions could be derogated due to their invasiveness in relation to the artistic peculiarities of historical assets. In many cases, the lack of effective interventions has resulted in the loss of significant historical and architectural assets, destroyed by fires over the centuries. This research aims to reconcile the regulatory parameters of fire prevention with the fundamental principles of restoration and conservation, following a performance-based approach. Building upon the Italian regulatory framework, this study develops an integrated method that adheres to both the parameters of the “Vertical Technical Rule” on historical buildings and the conservation cases associated with them. The proposed model is the result of a multiparametric evaluation based on the intersection of 3 objectives, 7 sub-objectives, and 10 strategies, defining 70 actions based on the main objective to be pursued. The methodology was applied to two case studies in Southern Italy. The results demonstrate that it is possible to ensure fire safety while preserving the unique characteristics of historical buildings through minimally invasive interventions. Furthermore, the results, which are almost identical between the two case studies, demonstrate that the methodology is applicable to each type of protected asset, including museums or galleries, buildings for exhibitions or shows, libraries, and archives, and historical churches.