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The seismic sequence occurring in Central Italy in 2016 represents a new test benchmark for historical masonry churches and a chance for a better comprehension of their structural behavior under earthquake actions. The many earthquakes that took place in the past have led to stratifications of repair and retrofitting interventions that sometimes worsened the structural behavior, especially when resulting in the introduction of elements not compatible with the churches’ original layout. Within this framework, the present paper intends to provide a critical review of the main interventions carried out in the churches of Central Italy for mitigating their seismic vulnerability and to evaluate their effectiveness in light of the damage surveyed on a representative sample of masonry churches after the 2016–2017 seismic sequence. The work is organized into three parts: (1) historical analysis of the territory; (2) review of the featured interventions; (3) critical appraisal of the interventions in relation to the surveyed data and assessment of their effectiveness. The goal of the work is to shed light on the correct design of retrofitting interventions in ancient masonry structures in order to enhance the structural safety of such artefacts without compromising their historical and cultural value.

The seismic protection of cultural heritage is an important topic that has been faced by several researchers in the last decades. Seismic events of the past have highlighted the need of achieving a proper knowledge of the vulnerability of cultural heritage, in particular of churches, in order to put in the field proper mitigation measures at the large scale. According to this premise, this paper deals with the damage scenario observed on eighty seven churches hit by the 2016 Central Italy earthquake. In a first stage, the most important structural features of the studied churches are discussed and threated by the statistical standpoint. The reported information have been collected through the A-DC form, adopted by the Civil Protection Department and by the Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Activity and Tourism (MiBACT), which was used in the framing of the damage reconnaissance activity carried out by the ReLUIS Italian consortium in the aftermath of the earthquake. Also, the form has been used in order assess the damage of each macro-element and, then, to assign a damage index to each church. The presented work is framed in a wider research activity that aims at providing a predictive methodology for the vulnerability assessment of churches at the regional scale. This methodology was already calibrated on the basis of the 2009 L'Aquila seismic event. The outcomes presented in this paper will serve to further prove the reliability of the proposed model.