ABSTRACT
The paper presents some experimental results on the mechanical behavior of a pyroclastic rock (Ignimbrite Campana) characterizing the subsoil of Sant’Agata de’ Goti, a typical pre-medieval village in Southern Italy lying on a steep cliff. Therein, the risk of instability induced by the singular morphology is enhanced by the presence of a network of underground anthropogenic cavities, sometimes facing out the cliff (Scotto di Santolo et al. 2015). This study was therefore focused on the experimental characterization of the shear strength of the intact rock and of joints, by means of a laboratory investigation addressed to define the constitutive parameters necessary to analyze with rational methods the stability conditions of the jointed rock mass along the slopes and around the cavities.
