ABSTRACT
The paper aims to illustrate the complex process, either in terms of assessment and repair work, that the Collegiate church of Santa Maria Maggiore experienced in the years after the May 2012 earthquakes, bringing it back to its devoted people as the result of a series of efforts that began the very day after devastating event. The parish complex arrived at us as a building partially rebuilt at the end of the seventeenth century when the chapter decided to restructure the church due to previous interventions that weakened the load-bearing structures. Due to several construction activities that often added and removed parts without providing continuity between its main elements, the load-bearing structure became vulnerable in many parts. In the aftermath of the earthquake that caused the collapse of the dome, a temporary structure was built, not only to meet the basic safety principles of construction, but also to limit the progression of the damage and provide a useful residual utility that would be complementary to the subsequent design and execution phases. Thus, the restoration of the church, including the reconstruction of its dome, is one of the most interesting case studies in the post-earthquake site work in Emilia because it involved many interrelated interventions that guided the church restoration in a pretty short period, but also addressed the implementation of the worksite knowledge in which the ongoing site activities backed studies, investigations, and surveys.
