HISTORIC FARMS IN ITALY: SURVEY ON EFFECTS OF LACK OF MAINTENANCE G. CARDANI 1 , C. TEDESCHI 1 , L. BINDA 1 , G. BARONIO 1 1 Dep. of Structural Engineering (DIS), Polytechnic of Milan SUMMARY The growth of Milan in the last century occupied some rural areas still active in the fifties and sixties; the buildings were abandoned by the owners and remained under continuous decay due to lack of maintenance. The authors will report on surveys carried out on two historic farms showing how through on site and laboratory tests the progressive decay of materials and structure could be monitored. This decay is causing the total loss of one of the two farms while the other could be saved by restoration and repair intervention. 1. INTRODUCTION Aggressive environments [1] and the presence of animal waste are generally the principle cause of the porous material decay in rural building [2]. Nevertheless chemical-physical decay does not cause generally structural problems, if repair and protection are carried out. A continuos lack of maintenance speeds up the damage phenomena and the masonry decay, causing serious static failures. The two examples here reported are: the “Cascina Rosa” (CR in the following) and the “Cascine Chiesa Rossa” (CCR in the following) barns, which are part of the buildings. The CR farm is in a period of neglect, awaiting since years the approval of the intervention project. Continuos carelessness worsened the situation of the complex in such a way that it will be probably ruin. Same critical conditions had reached the CCR farm in 1960, when a first rough restoration took place. Only in 1999 a reuse project was accomplished, which saved the buildings at the very last moment.