Learning from a case-study: the great roof structures of the Cathedral of Vercelli

The great timber roof structures of the Cathedral of Vercelli offer an extraordinary path of knowledge, diagnosis and conservation, through a collaboration between the architects of the Cultural Heritage Office of the Diocese of Vercelli – responsible for the restoration process – and experts in the field of timber structures. The interest of the architectural complex is witnessed also by the contribution of renewed architects of Piedmont between the XVIth and XIXth centuries. The paper goes beyond the diagnostic evaluation, giving an overview on the main consolidation interventions respectful of the conservation of the timber structure.