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The ‘false vaults’ in the architecture of Sicily

2015

Between the end of the 17th century and the first decades of the 18th, Sicily was struck by several violent earthquakes. The total and partial collapse of monumental buildings produced a global debate involving various aspects of construction practice. One of the central topics of discussion was the construction of domes and large vaulted structures. Some architects studied the possibility of using so-called ‘false vaults’, a kind of lightweight structure created with a wooden frame, reed mats, and plaster. The technique was probably known by the 16th century and was used in a few major monuments, such as the dome of the Palermo Cathedral, in the mid-17th century. It was only after the Eart…