Via Canosa in Barletta building collapse
Encyclopedia
The Via Canosa 7 building collapse was a deadly accident which occurred in Barletta
, Italy
on September 16, 1959. 58 people were killed and 12 injured in the structural collapse of a five-story housing complex just one year old.
The collapse was caused by major faults in building procedures and safety standards; one effect was to put the whole Italian construction industry under scrutiny.
The city had no town plan up until 1967 and land prices were cheap, so any available spot was targeted with new construction proposals. This condition was widespread in the whole country since many big cities were being rebuilt after World War II
, and the pressing need for masons and artisans led inexperienced constructors to the business, both lacking in skill and ethics.
Community officers were prone to give licenses easily, conscious of the housing needs and often holding a stake in the ventures themselves.
This phenomenon is widely known in Italy as Edilizia Selvaggia (Wild building). It brought many consequences, leading to accidents and deaths in the following decades and creating an unruly approach to the building business still visible as of today.
, a kind of rock widely available and traditionally used for smaller buildings.
The collapse caused 17 deaths, and its images were shown both in cinemas and in newspapers, shocking the Italians and reminding the bombings of many cities in the war.
At first, the neighbors feared an earthquake had struck the city and fled the surrounding buildings. After assessing the situation, many begun helping with the rescue operations, but little could be done. The collapse happened while people in the building were sleeping, so no one had time to flee.
Of the 70 inhabitants, 12 were saved from the debris and 58 died.
The first responders managed to bring only one crane
on the scene, but could count on help from townsfolk, soldiers from the nearby barracks and city guards. Among the volunteers there were the city Mayor Giuseppe Palmitessa, many farmers and workers from city's factories and even a few monks.
Later rescuers used plows to move the rubble, since they were sure that no survivor could be found under the mountain of debris a few meter high.
The last survivor, Luigi Superti, was found after 36 hours, but later died from his wounds. Doctors of the local hospital, led by chief surgeon Ruggiero Lattanzio, organized a full scale mobilization to cope with the need for medical help, medicines and blood.
Concrete had a high sand content and lacked the required reinforcing bar
s. Trash was used as filler in the walls, and bricks cavities were casehardened with low-grade clay and dirt. Hollow bricks were used instead of solid ones in floor slabs. Foundations were almost missing, the whole structure leaning on old walls from a partially demolished single store bus depot
, built in 1942 under war's constraints.
Builders thought that those walls would have been enough as a structural frame, but failed to understand that the old depot and walls were themselves without foundations. In charge of the structural design was a local 37 years old civil engineer, who got only a temporary permit to practice.
The flats were finished on September 1958, and sold out just a few months before in the summer. In February 1959 the building was wrongly deemed as "corresponding to the submitted design" by a civic officer, who licensed the building without effectively checking the works. Builders unlawfully changed the design, adding three new flats to the 17 authorized.
Immediately the owners issued complaints about inch wide cracks in the walls, but masons underplayed the problem, stating that those were normal settlement movements.
, along with the main newspapers, called for justice in order to severely punish the responsible. Many top journalists, including Indro Montanelli
and Umberto Eco
, covered the event and its consequences.
L'Espresso
launched a full scale journalistic investigation, documenting bad business practices, government collusion and criminal activities. The article, "I Pirati del Cemento" ("Concrete Pirates") was a direct accusation to the whole industry and sparked a nationwide cry for justice.
The builders of Via Canosa 7 were prosecuted in the Trani
court, the trial obtaining widespread news coverage from local and national news sources. A technical survey confirmed the abuses and poor workmanship of the constructors, underlining the major role in the tragedy of the many design shortcomings and irregularities. The collapse was started by a failure of the underlying old walls, deemed inadequate in size and type, worsened by the lack of solid foundations and by the bad statical condition of the newly built walls.
President Gronchi himself followed personally the inquiry, asking for copies of the technical survey and of the proceedings.
The trial ended with the conviction of all the defendants, including the builders, the engineer, a fixer and the chief of town's technical office. A new law was approved by the Parliament, improving building safety and forcing mandatory control by the Civic Engineers Corps.
The tragedy's ground remained unused for many years, earning the nickname "The Graveyard" by locals. Rumors of ghost
sightings and noises became widespread in the most superstitious dwellers, and the place was deemed as cursed.
In the 1980s the whole block was rebuilt from scratch as low-income flats built in concrete. Notwithstanding locals protests, nothing was left to remember the tragedy except a road marked "Via 16 Settembre 1959". Upon the "cursed" ground in 1993 a new road bridge was built.
In 2009, five decades after the disaster, an exposition was held in Barletta to remember the victims of the tragedy. A national meeting of engineer
s, architect
s and surveyor
s, along with a DVD
and book release were held in the 50th anniversary of the disaster.
Barletta
Barletta is a city and comune located in the north of Apulia in south eastern Italy. Its current population is 94,140.It is famous for the Colossus of Barletta, a bronze statue, representing a Roman Emperor...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
on September 16, 1959. 58 people were killed and 12 injured in the structural collapse of a five-story housing complex just one year old.
The collapse was caused by major faults in building procedures and safety standards; one effect was to put the whole Italian construction industry under scrutiny.
Background
During the Italian economic boom, Barletta went through a period of fast industrial growth driven by the thriving textile and leather sectors, alongside increased use of agricultural technologies. This brought many people into the city from the countryside, and caused a critical housing shortage. New housing projects had to be built in very short time and cheaply, since laborers' salaries were quite low in the province.The city had no town plan up until 1967 and land prices were cheap, so any available spot was targeted with new construction proposals. This condition was widespread in the whole country since many big cities were being rebuilt after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the pressing need for masons and artisans led inexperienced constructors to the business, both lacking in skill and ethics.
Community officers were prone to give licenses easily, conscious of the housing needs and often holding a stake in the ventures themselves.
This phenomenon is widely known in Italy as Edilizia Selvaggia (Wild building). It brought many consequences, leading to accidents and deaths in the following decades and creating an unruly approach to the building business still visible as of today.
Previous accidents
Less than a year before, on December 8, 1952 in Barletta two 3-storied buildings located in Via Magenta, a low-income residential area, collapsed under their own weight. They were built in tuffTuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
, a kind of rock widely available and traditionally used for smaller buildings.
The collapse caused 17 deaths, and its images were shown both in cinemas and in newspapers, shocking the Italians and reminding the bombings of many cities in the war.
Via Canosa 7 collapse
At 6.40, just after dawn, on September 16, 1959, a rumble was heard in the town. A thick cloud of smoke and powder filled the streets around Via Canosa, while the building at number 7, just a few meters from the railroad crossing, caved in.At first, the neighbors feared an earthquake had struck the city and fled the surrounding buildings. After assessing the situation, many begun helping with the rescue operations, but little could be done. The collapse happened while people in the building were sleeping, so no one had time to flee.
Of the 70 inhabitants, 12 were saved from the debris and 58 died.
The first responders managed to bring only one crane
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
on the scene, but could count on help from townsfolk, soldiers from the nearby barracks and city guards. Among the volunteers there were the city Mayor Giuseppe Palmitessa, many farmers and workers from city's factories and even a few monks.
Later rescuers used plows to move the rubble, since they were sure that no survivor could be found under the mountain of debris a few meter high.
The last survivor, Luigi Superti, was found after 36 hours, but later died from his wounds. Doctors of the local hospital, led by chief surgeon Ruggiero Lattanzio, organized a full scale mobilization to cope with the need for medical help, medicines and blood.
First assessment of building shortcomings
Initial speculations of a collapse due to vibrations from a train in transit on the nearby railroad were dismissed after it was clear that the building had severe structural faults, as discovered by the Chief Engineer Mr. Rivelli of the Civil Engineering Corps.Concrete had a high sand content and lacked the required reinforcing bar
Rebar
A rebar , also known as reinforcing steel, reinforcement steel, rerod, or a deformed bar, is a common steel bar, and is commonly used as a tensioning device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures holding the concrete in compression...
s. Trash was used as filler in the walls, and bricks cavities were casehardened with low-grade clay and dirt. Hollow bricks were used instead of solid ones in floor slabs. Foundations were almost missing, the whole structure leaning on old walls from a partially demolished single store bus depot
Bus depot
Bus depot has the following meanings:*A bus station is a structure where buses pick up and drop off passengers. .*A bus garage is a place where buses are stored when out of service and worked on....
, built in 1942 under war's constraints.
Builders thought that those walls would have been enough as a structural frame, but failed to understand that the old depot and walls were themselves without foundations. In charge of the structural design was a local 37 years old civil engineer, who got only a temporary permit to practice.
The flats were finished on September 1958, and sold out just a few months before in the summer. In February 1959 the building was wrongly deemed as "corresponding to the submitted design" by a civic officer, who licensed the building without effectively checking the works. Builders unlawfully changed the design, adding three new flats to the 17 authorized.
Immediately the owners issued complaints about inch wide cracks in the walls, but masons underplayed the problem, stating that those were normal settlement movements.
Aftermath
The news came as a shock in the whole country, since many knew or suspected the unsafe and criminal practices of the construction business but had little grasp of the consequences. President Giovanni GronchiGiovanni Gronchi
Giovanni Gronchi was a Christian Democratic Italian politician who became the third President of the Italian Republic in 1955, after Luigi Einaudi...
, along with the main newspapers, called for justice in order to severely punish the responsible. Many top journalists, including Indro Montanelli
Indro Montanelli
Indro Montanelli was an Italian journalist and historian, known for his new approach to writing history in books such as History of the Greeks and History of Rome....
and Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
, covered the event and its consequences.
L'Espresso
L'Espresso
l'Espresso is an Italian newsmagazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies, the other being Panorama. Since the latter has been acquired by right-wing tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi, l'Espresso enjoys the reputation of being the main politically independent newsmagazine...
launched a full scale journalistic investigation, documenting bad business practices, government collusion and criminal activities. The article, "I Pirati del Cemento" ("Concrete Pirates") was a direct accusation to the whole industry and sparked a nationwide cry for justice.
The builders of Via Canosa 7 were prosecuted in the Trani
Trani
Trani is a seaport of Apulia, southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, in the new Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani , and 40 km by railway West-Northwest of Bari.- History :...
court, the trial obtaining widespread news coverage from local and national news sources. A technical survey confirmed the abuses and poor workmanship of the constructors, underlining the major role in the tragedy of the many design shortcomings and irregularities. The collapse was started by a failure of the underlying old walls, deemed inadequate in size and type, worsened by the lack of solid foundations and by the bad statical condition of the newly built walls.
President Gronchi himself followed personally the inquiry, asking for copies of the technical survey and of the proceedings.
The trial ended with the conviction of all the defendants, including the builders, the engineer, a fixer and the chief of town's technical office. A new law was approved by the Parliament, improving building safety and forcing mandatory control by the Civic Engineers Corps.
The tragedy's ground remained unused for many years, earning the nickname "The Graveyard" by locals. Rumors of ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
sightings and noises became widespread in the most superstitious dwellers, and the place was deemed as cursed.
In the 1980s the whole block was rebuilt from scratch as low-income flats built in concrete. Notwithstanding locals protests, nothing was left to remember the tragedy except a road marked "Via 16 Settembre 1959". Upon the "cursed" ground in 1993 a new road bridge was built.
In 2009, five decades after the disaster, an exposition was held in Barletta to remember the victims of the tragedy. A national meeting of engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s and surveyor
Surveyor
Surveyor may refer to:Professions and their activities* Surveying, the process of determining accurate positions on, or near the Earth's surface** Cadastral surveying, the process of establishing boundary locations and land parcel corners...
s, along with a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and book release were held in the 50th anniversary of the disaster.