Introduction

Fig. 1 Ornaghi & Prestinari, Prove di volo, 2018, ceramic, fabric, lacquered wood, 35x70x30 cm.

Any moment the earth can shake, but we do not know when or where. As beautiful as fragile, Italy is continuously chasing urgent situations and fixing damages provoked by earthquakes and other natural and human disasters. As the news cyclically reports, the tremors compromise the integrity of artworks and museum objects, emphasizing the vulnerability of both movable and immovable heritage. Even medium-low intensity tremors might represent a colossal risk, and, given the higher frequency of minor earthquakes in specific geographical locations, all institutions should be committed to heritage seismic protection. Fortunately, the general awareness on preventing and protecting the built heritage against the seismic hazard is slowly increasing, and there are significant advancements in theoretical and applied research on earthquakes and their effect on the built heritage.1 Howewer, that pertains almost exclusively to the container, not the content (UN 2015). In fact, there are no shared methodologies or standards for museum settings comparable to the anti-seismic norms for buildings.2 As a result, the seismic safety of collections is a duty transferred directly to single museums, charging the staff of huge responsibilities. Running a museum is a complex and multidisciplinary task. Museum buildings shield treasures and wonders. Here, the collections are stored, preserved, and coherently exhibited. It means managing goods and people, unraveling between laws and prescriptions, scheduling scientific programs and activities, and caring

1 In Italy, there is a debate about the limited acknowledgment of the topic, considered only for experts (Fiore and Ottaviani 2018). A pervasive and diffuse action to protect the built heritage is possible by informing and sharing suitable instruments among the public opinion. Historical public architectures are often monitored. The collaborations among countries, universities, and private donors are fundamental. The application of anti-seismic solutions links to financial availability. Although not pervasive enough, some initiatives increased awareness among the Italian population, for example, the so-called Sisma Bonus promoted by the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate). It dedicates to taxpayers who carry out interventions to adopt anti-seismic measures on buildings and deducts part of the expenses incurred from income taxes <https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/web/guest/aree-tematiche/casa/ agevolazioni/sisma-bonus> (11/2021). Private and public bodies sponsor other initiatives, like the Seismic Prevention Days promoted jointly by professional associations <https://www.giornataprevenzionesismica.it/> (11/2021). 2 Italian Technical Construction Regulation – NTC Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni prescribes a set of mandatory norms to public buildings (NTC 2008).

about the public (Bollo 2008, Watson 2007, Macdonald 2006, MacLeod 2005, Ambrose and Paine 1993, Hooper GreenHill 1992). Rarely, the staff includes personnel with specific knowledge about seismic vulnerability, or with cognizance of available quantitative and qualitative instruments for the seismic assessment of collections. That said, if a museum located in a seismic area wanted to do something against earthquake risk and if it wanted to know the seismic vulnerability of its collections, from where would it start? Whom could it turn to for a consult? Among thousands of pieces, how does it understand the most vulnerable ones? Moreover, among limitless setting configurations, which are the safest from the seismic perspective? Once evaluated the vulnerability of objects and settings, what are the preventive measures against damages? These preliminary questions lead to aspects relating to the exhibit design: can a museum display be both safe and coherent according to updated exhibiting criteria? Can museography integrate with seismic preventions and museum policies? How can safety solutions and exhibit design be combined into existing setups (historical museum rooms, musealized setups) or temporary exhibitions? Considering the ever-changing museum trends, the publics’ multiple necessities, and the museum institutions’ internal dynamics, how do exhibit design, safety, and economic sustainability combine? The book Shaking Heritage attempts to answer these questions. As part of the general research RESIMUS, RESILience MUSeums, developed with some colleagues at the Department of Architecture, University of Florence, this study proposes a novel approach to rank the vulnerability grade of museum collections and setups. It investigates the application of anti-seismic and coherent museographic proposals. The goals are to determine the seismic risk assessment of museum setups and collections and encourage anti-seismic display solutions. The book is organized in four parts. The first introduces the general setting and the RESIMUS research. In particular, it presents the novel approach named RESIMUS Approach. It aims to rank the vulnerability of existing museum setups and foster anti-seismic solutions. The proposed methodology composes of three phases: Analysis, Design, and Installation. The Analysis Phase includes the development of survey models, the RESIMUS Forms (RF), used to rank the vulnerability of the museum setups. The Design Phase focuses on developing design proposals to combine anti-seismic devices and coherent museographic solutions. The Installation Phase is the realization or the prototyping of design speculations. The second part of the book introduces the application of the RESIMUS Approach to two cases: a permanent museum setting, into detail, the redesign of the Majolica and the Trecento Rooms of the National Museum of Bargello in

Florence, Italy, and a temporary exhibition, di Tutti i Colori. Racconti di ceramica a Montelupo dalla «fabbrica di Firenze» all’industria e al design, held in Montelupo Fiorentino, near Florence, in 2019. The cases illustrate the limits and the potentialities of the Approach. The third part sums up findings and comments, and discusses the next steps of the research. The last part of the book, the Appendix, contains supplementary materials, as the RESIMUS Forms and a sample list of exhibit mounts. In addition, five short thematic contributions written by five RESIMUS group members enrich the volume. Each of them focuses on specific aspects of the research, stressing the matter of the multidisciplinary study. Stefania Viti’s contribution introduces the research RESIMUS and its implication in the seismic assessment of art collections. Marco Tanganelli presents the applied analytical studies on museum objects. Alessandro Brodini explores the museographical dynamics and the cultural scene in the aftermath of the Second World World in Italy that qualified the Italian exponents internationally as masters of museum design. Giorgio Verdiani’s essay sums up the digital tools for the survey and documentation. Marino Marini resumes the main steps leading to the formation of the Majolica collection at the National Museum of Bargello. With Francesco Collotti, preface’s author, all of them are part of the RESIMUS research project.

16 shaking heritage • giada cerri

18 shaking heritage • giada cerri