Investigating on the 1920 Garfagnana earthquake (Mw=6.5): Evidences of site effects in Villa Collemandina (Tuscany, Italy)

This paper presents a comprehensive ground response study for the municipality of Villa Collemandina in Northern Tuscany (Italy). This site was selected following a macroseismic analysis of the 1920 Garfagnana earthquake (M-w=6.5), which, at Villa Collemandina, produced damage and losses that were larger than at any other site near the earthquake epicentre, thus indicating the presence of possible site effects. Hence, both experimental and numerical methods are applied in order to investigate the ground response at different locations within the Villa Collemandina municipality. Results obtained from the spectral analysis of earthquake recordings using the reference site method and those from a 2-dimensional dynamic simulation reveal the presence of site effects due to the buried geomorphology (basin-like effects), allowing us to explain the severe damage and losses produced by the 1920 Garfagnana earthquake. As a further result, horizontal to vertical spectral ratio techniques and 1D soil modelling are proved to be inadequate for an effective characterization of the ground response at sites that, like Villa Collemandina, present a complex local geology. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.