Cognitive analysis applied to the cloister of San Domenico church from Cosenza

To compile a diagnostic profile essential to define the exact and appropriate restorative measures, we need to acquire information and data necessary to learn about the architectural and historical monument’s preservation state. For this reason, about the architectural complex of Santa Maria della Sanità situated in the Portapiana quarter in the old town centre of Cosenza, has been developed a multidisciplinary study following the practice of an advanced and integrated diagnostic plan. The building of the cloistered complex annexed to the church was carried out by the Minor Conventual Friars descending from the S. Francesco of Assisi and who came to Calabria about the 1220. Specifically, in addition to the contextualization of the monument from the environmental and urban point of view, we have drawn the amnesic profile and we have realized the characterization of the constituent materials and the present degradation through the laboratory analysis realized on collected in a non-invasive way samples. To conclude, analyses about the state of the structural instabilities in act on the arches of cloister have been performed through the description of the crack pattern and the research of their causes. Evaluated the degree of danger about the arches due to the analyzed instabilities, a suitable intervention to guarantee full safety conditions to the masonry bearing elements of cloister has been proposed.