ORIGINAL ARTICLE The protection of artistic assets through the base isolation of historical buildings: a novel uplifting technology Gian Piero Lignola . Luigi Di Sarno . Marco Di Ludovico . Andrea Prota Received: 26 March 2015 / Accepted: 23 December 2015 Ó RILEM 2015 Abstract The present paper focuses on a novel advanced procedure for the installation of base isolation system (BIS) in historical buildings. The performance objectives of such critical structures and contents are first assessed to set the ground for the reliable evaluation of the response under earthquake ground motions. A number of controversial steps in the evaluation of the seismic demand and possible performance objectives associated to different aspects for a cultural heritage asset are identified and possible solutions proposed. It is shown that BIS is a cost- effective and efficient method that can be employed to protect adequately historical structures and artistic assets. Notwithstanding, the installation of isolation devices in historical structures is not an easy task. A novel advanced procedure based on the construction of two reinforced concrete foundation mats at the base of the existing structure to uplift the sample buildings (e.g. churches, museums, palaces, etc.) is illustrated in the paper. Hydraulic jacks are located along the bearing walls and tend to be as less intrusive as possible. A case study is also investigated both experimentally and numerically; the sample structure consists of a full-scale traditional masonry residential building. Refined yet versatile finite element (FE) models of the sample structures have been imple- mented and are used to determine the stresses within the foundation mat and superstructure. The FE models were calibrated on in-situ measurements for both structures. Such numerical models were also utilized to perform parametric analyses. Keywords Earthquake damage Á Historical buildings Á Artistic assets Á Base isolators Á Seismic retrofit Á Uplift 1 Introduction Ancient masonry buildings are highly vulnerable to seismic actions as demonstrated by numerous col- lapses, either partial or total, surveyed in the after- maths of moderate-to-high magnitude strong motions worldwide. Seismic retrofitting measures of historical masonry are not straightforward because they should encompass (e.g. Feilden 2003 [1], Look et al. 1997 [2], G. P. Lignola (&) Á M. Di Ludovico Á A. Prota Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy e-mail: glignola@unina.it M. Di Ludovico e-mail: diludovi@unina.it A. Prota e-mail: aprota@unina.it L. Di Sarno Department of Engineering, University of Sannio, Piazza Roma 21, 82100 Benevento, Italy e-mail: ldisarno@unisannio.it Materials and Structures DOI 10.1617/s11527-015-0785-1