The International Summer School on Historic Masonry Structures (HIMASS) is an educational initiative supported by academic institutions, including Roma Tre University, Polytechnic University of Madrid, University of Salerno, and University of Sannio, the MIT of Boston, as well as the Lazio Region, various municipalities, and is materially organized by the non-profit association KEIKO ets. The program takes place annually and is designed to bring together students and experts worldwide, involved in the preservation of historic masonry structures.

​

The school was conceived jointly by Roma Tre University, Polytechnic University of Madrid and University of Salerno in June 2017. Since then six editions of the school have taken place. The total cost of HIMASS varied between 40,000 and 58,000 euro per year, not including the cost of teachers, tutors and technicians who participate under a volunteering basis. In the past years the school received the financial support of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Sannio, the Instituto de Empresa (IE) University, the PLINIUS Study Centre for Hydrogeological Volcanic and Seismic Engineering and the Technological District for Cultural Heritage (DTC) of the Lazio Region.

Activities carried out and stages of implementation of the project

Over the past six editions, the Summer School has brought together participants, teachers and students, from all over the world, with the common goal of understanding historical masonry constructions. The scheme is simple: two weeks of intensive work combining theory classes with practical work applied to the study of specific buildings. These historical vaulted buildings are analysed from three main points of view: their geometry, their construction and their stability. At the end of the course, the participants, who have worked in groups, present the results of their studies. The presentation is followed by discussion and debate.