ABSTRACT
The failure of monumental buildings is luckily an exceptional event; nevertheless, when their safety assessment is required, any risk factor that may affect the integrity of the buildings has to be taken into account. Ancient buildings often show diffused crack patterns, which may be due to different causes in relation to their original function, to their construction technique and to their load history. In many cases the dead load, usually rather high in massive monumental buildings, plays a major role into the formation and propagation of the crack pattern.
