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hws-cernunnos · 4 years ago

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Following an advice given by my friend @flamaflavio I've decided to dedicate a series of posts on Northern Italy(because there's a serious lack of them in the fandom:(),whether they might be about culture,history,folklore,stereotypes(could be an interesting addition to characterization)or misconceptions*? Maybe even cuisine ahah

In this post I'll expain what we intend for North Italy, why it doesn't line up perfectly with canon and most importantly why Feli gets called "Italy" way more often than Mano.

Let's start by stating that in our country by North Italy we mean the regions of: Aosta Valley (Valle d'Aosta), Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria(the region your girl's from), Lombardy(Lombardia), Piedmont (Piemonte), Veneto and Trentino Alto-Adige.

So you might ask me, why is it that in Hetalia Chibitalia has been shown as Florence as well??? Is it a mistake made by Hima?? Yes.. But actually no ahah! In this post I'll cover how we came to such a perception of the North in our country and why Tuscany and the rest of Central Italy, isn't included in it and doesn't consider themselves part of it :D

I won't talk about all history until nowadays of course (I'll definitely make future historical posts) I'll simply give you basic information based on early history to have an understanding of how us italians divide our country and why in canon other nations refer to Feliciano as Italy more commonly than they do with Romano(it is indeed based in history, it's not mean spirited!!).

So during the centuries prior to romanization North Italy was inhabited by a different bunch of cultures, among them the long haired Ligures(whose origin is unsure,Celtic?? Or simply celtified by their neighbors uhmm?? Talking about them in detail would take a whole ass post) the Veneti who were known for their commerce of amber and horse breeding, the Etruscans who, coming from Tuscany, colonised parts of the North and founded cities such as Bologna and in a later period a swarm of Gaulish tribes(generally referred to as the Celts).

The latter(most likely the Insubres) founded Milan in 590 BC, naming it Medhelan(the place in the middle of the plain, or among rivers) or Mediolanum as the Roman would call it later(Meśiolano as a Celtic engraving informs us) keep Milan in mind we'll come back to her later. Their domain extended from the Alps to the Adriatic sea.

This would be stopped by roman conquest that would culminate in 194 BC in the foundation of a province under the name of Gallia Cisalpina**,Cisalpine Gaul, id est Gaul on the hither side of the Alps(from the Romans point of view) that pretty much contained the regions which nowadays we consider North Italy.

The area became one of the most influential and rich provinces in the empire and it's strategic role is emphasized by the fact that in 286 the capital of the Western Roman Empire is moved from Rome to,guess where, Milan the main city in Gallia Cisalpina(and later on in Ravenna from 402 to the fall).

Is this why Grandpa is shown to leave poor Romano behind in canon in favour of his little brother??? Most likely!!! Btw if you're interested in the subject you should totally check out jjblue's Italia Annonaria (baby Feli) and Italia Suburbicaria (baby Mano) profiles on DA.

It's really unfair that the other characters call only Feliciano Italy:/ It's actually not true, as my friend flama has talked about in one her posts both Germany and America have called him Italy in the past. The fact that this behavior hurts Romano is long lasting misunderstanding in the fandom: he really doesn't care.

What annoys him it's that he's often referred to as "Italy's older brother" but not because he's Italy as well, but because that takes away his individuality: he's peeved by the fact he's only considered in relation to his brother, he's Romano besides being Feliciano's older brother ahah.

If his identity as Italy truly mattered to him he would have some kind of reaction out of being called Italy, especially by someone he has a bad relationship with like Germany, but he was left completely indifferent by that. I've often seen fanfictions where he's moved to tears by such action by it actually seems like he doesn't mind. He just wants people to understand he has a persona outside being Feli's big brother ahah.

There's actually a reason why Feli is "Italy" and it has been actually brought up recently in the fandom. Let's go back to history ahah.

A germanic general named Odoacer overthrew the last Roman Emperor, whose name for some reason I always found funnee, Romulus Augustulus.

Now the Eastern Roman Empire was having none of that and decided to invite Theodoric the Great of the Ostrogoths to rule over Italy under their approval(btw if you'll ever visit Ravenna do check out Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and Theodoric's Mausoleum). Ostrogothic rule was short lived (lasted pretty much Theodoric's reign) but greatly improved the economy and the arts. . . Too good to be true of course, because Justinian I(Eastern Roman emperor)decided he wanted to revive the glory ™ of the empire and this brings us to Gothic Wars.

Italy, especially the North, was left devastated by them, as they brought death(duh),poverty and were accompanied by a good dose of famine and plague. Byzantine rule wouldn't last long as a Germanic tribe***, the Lombards, took advantage of their weakness and took over italy and gave birth to a reign, which had Pavia as capital.

Said reign was called Langobardia, in particular North and Central Italy were named Langobardia Maior(The great Langobardia), which is the name under which North italy would be known as for a good part of the middle age and that gives the name to the modern region Milan and Pavia are located, Lombardia/Lombardy.

For example Boccaccio in his Decameron(in particular in the first novella) uses Lombards when referring to Italian merchants because that's the name they were given even if most of them came from Piedmont and Tuscany.

Lombard language and culture slowly was assimilated into the previous one and that can be seen in names, words and laws created in that period. This came to an end in 774 when Charles the Great, king of the Franks(and future Holy Roman Emperor), conquered Pavia and annexed the Lombard kingdom... Under the name of Kingdom of Italy!

So in other words the reason why our boy is the one who's called Italy the most is because he's simply been "Italy" for longer or more specifically for more than once(as I explain in the notes:)!!). Mano on the other hand would have most likely known as Kingdom of Sicily, Kingdom of Naples or Kingdom of the two Sicilies :). And I'm very much sure he would have been proud of such identity.

But what about central Italy??? You see the Papal States forged a document the Donation of Constantine, according to which Emperor Constantine assured Pope Silvester I(in 321) and his successors the exclusive domain over the city of Rome(btw Rome isn't part of southern Italy!!the fact South Italy is called Romano is really weird and so is North Italy as Veneziano ngl). This gave the Church access to "temporal power",id est material power and with it came territorial power. And so little by little (with the exception of Tuscany that flourished on it's own) it ate up the whole of Central Italy, which would develop a linguistic group, a culture and history of its own.

And that's pretty much what you need to know to understand Hetalia's confusing lore ahah. It's not everything I could go on explaining the era of the Commons and the Renaissance and go all through medieval and modern history to make you fully grasp it but I think it's enough for today:D let me know if you want me to talk about the subjects I mentioned in detail and if you want me to go on. Read the notes :)!!!

*I've often seen Feli wearing tarantella clothes, because it's probably assumed as the italian™ traditional dance and the music is misused in videos about Italy(all of Italy!!)when it's really characteristic of the South:)! Would be nice to see more fan arts of Mano in those garments lol really nice

**Napoleon would found in the 18th century the Cisalpine Republic in North Italy, a sister republic of France, that would later become known as the Italian Republic and then the (napoleonic!!!)Kingdom of Italy:) not to be confused with the Kingdom of Italy that would be born on the 17th of March 1861,ring a bell ahah???Read Hetalia's Risorgimento strips if you want to know about that:)))Milan djdbdb was once again the capital of all these.

***considering Romano is stated to have Arabic blood which is definitely brought by the moorish occupation, I'd assume Feli's Germanic one has to do with daddy Lombards. The longobards ruled over the South as well so ehhh, but hey it's Hima we're talking about. Genetics work in a weird way in hetalia, they're like acquired??? Hima explains that Canada, America and Seychelles don't have England's bushy eyebrows because of France's influence. Wtf. Oh btw if you might be interested in the Lombards' origin in Historia Langobardorum Paulus Diaconus informs us they came from Scania(a region in Sweden) and the settled in "Scoringa".

#I've been feeling down lately and needed a distraction #hope y'all will like it #in any case i enjoyed doing this :)#aph north italy #hws north italy #aph italy #hws italy #aph south italy #hws south italy

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histoireettralala · 4 years ago

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The Battle of Rivoli

The battle of Rivoli was regarded as one of Bonaparte’s most comprehensive early victories since, during the pursuit that followed the battle, a substantial proportion of the surviving Austrian army was captured. However, at one point the battle itself was “a near run thing” which had the potential to go badly for the French army. Bonaparte had 23000 men under his command whilst the Austrian army under Alvinczi consisted of 28000 men. The Austrians were committed to attack the French since the purpose of the engagement from their perspective was to effect the relief of the Siege of Mantua which had failed on three previous occasions.

As part of a two-pronged advance on Mantua, Alvinczi, in command of one element, advanced down the valley of the river Adige. First contact with Joubert’s small command forced the French to retreat. It was clear to Bonaparte that the main battle to decide the matter would be fought on the Rivoli plateau, the topography of which he was quite familiar. The typically complicated Austrian plan of attack consisted of six columns, which it was hoped would eventually envelop the French. On the left, one column under Vukassovich advanced down the left bank of the Adige. This column only managed to contribute some artillery fire to the battle.

Quasdavonich advanced down the Adige right bank with 9000 men consisting principally of cavalry and artillery. Three columns in the center under Libtay, Koblos and Ocksay advanced over rough mountain roads so had few artillery pieces. The right column under Lusignan was sent on an unsuccessful flanking movement intended to bring them to the French rear which failed to the extent that this force did not make a significant contribution to the battle since it did not arrive in position until the battle was effectively over.

This simple description of the attack illuminates that the Austrians squandered their numerical advantage by breaking up the army into small units enabling them to be dealt with piecemeal by Bonaparte. The Austrian battle plan required each element to achieve its objective without compromise and thus work in concert with every other column effectively to achieve success. However, Bonaparte would have been in a perilous position had the battle gone against him given his retreat would have been blocked by this manoeuvre.

Whilst Austrian forces were advancing onto the plateau at the outset of the battle only Joubert’s 10000 men which were of course heavily outnumbered were in position to oppose the enemy which they did by focusing their fire on the centre columns. Other French columns were moving in towards the engagement and fortunately, Masséna’s division had by this point arrived on the field and its troops began to be incrementally filtered into the line. By 9.00 AM the Austrians had turned the French left flank, but Masséna’s arrival had managed to restore the situation.

The Austrian column under General Quasdanovich, on the right flank with nine battalions of infantry and thirteen squadrons of cavalry, attempted to climb up from the valley floor of the Adige onto the plateau. This move then threatened the French right and centre so in response this column was raked with cannister from a battery of 15 cannons with devastating effect, followed briskly by an attack by Joubert’s light infantry, which concentrated on Quasdanovich’s right flank. Berthier’s cavalry then launched themselves into a highly effective counter-attack which forced the Austrians to retreat back up the Adige in chaos.

In this charge, Lasalle was first noticed (according to Thoumas whose reference was probably Thiers) for his ardour fighting beside Charles Leclerc. The impact of this charge threw the retreating Austrians into a panic as their escape route necessitated passing through the restriction of a narrow gorge. Fleeing Austrian dragoons collided with their own infantry and soon the gorge was a mass of tightly packed, completely disordered enemy troops with no thought but escape. Upon this wedge the French cavalry fell in fury. With just 26 men of the 22nd Chasseurs à Cheval Lasalle captured, it is said, an entire battalion of infantry and seized five enemy colours. Later in the day Lasalle led another charge, which added to his fame, at the head of a hundred or so hussars against the infantry of the Austrian General Ocksay upon the Trambasore Heights.

[..]

Napoleon in his Memoirs says concerning Berthier’s charge upon Quasdanovich’s column:

“The intrepidity of this charge decided upon success; the enemy was overthrown in the ravine; all that had debouched, infantry, cavalry, artillery, was taken.”

[..]

It is said that in the evening, Lasalle, pale and tired, stood before the général en chef beside the flags he had taken from the enemy. Bonaparte reportedly said to him on this occasion:

“Lie down on them, for you have well deserved it”.

Bonaparte had consistently proved his military genius since he had assumed command and by the time of the key victory of the battle of Rivoli, the Austrian army, from a strategic perspective, was all but conclusively beaten. The Austrians had been prevented from relieving the Siege of Mantua and the immediate outcome placed northern Italy in the hands of the French.

A few years afterward, in 1803, at a dinner given in Saint-Omer, the First Consul [..] said in front of all the officers of the division of Bourcier’s Dragoons:

“It is Masséna, Joubert, Lasalle, and I, who have won the battle of Rivoli.”

(General Roguet, Souvenir Militaires, tome 1).

John H. Lewis- Lasalle, the Hussar General.

#napoleonic #john h. lewis #lasalle the hussar general #today in history #battle of rivoli #napoléon bonaparte #andré masséna #antoine de lasalle #barthélémy catherine joubert #louis alexandre berthier

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barontravelllc · 4 years ago

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Looking for peace on the precipice

The Sanctuary of Madonna della Corona sits on an outcropping almost 2,500 feet high overlooking the Adige River Valley in northern Italy, near the city of Verona. Since the Middle Ages, this spot has been a destination for religious pilgrimages. The faithful are drawn no doubt by the views and, perhaps, the dangerous path to get there—enlightenment shouldn't come easy.

Over the centuries, the structure has evolved from a hermitage to a church, first inaugurated in 1530, and eventually to a sanctuary for contemplation and reflection. In the mid-1970s, architect Guido Tisato oversaw a major renovation, including digging out more of the mountain to add additional space. Today, visitors can reach the sanctuary from above via a paved path or from below, on a longer trail, known as the 'Path of Hope,' that ends with a steep staircase zigzagging upward. We think those who manage the climb up may be justified in feeling a little superior.

#barontravelllc #places #place #travelagents #travelagent #traveling #travel #madonnadellacorona #sanctuary #Italy #vacations #vacation #europe

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ikizais · 6 years ago

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1 13 and 28 for the nationality asks! :D

I honestly didn’t expect to write so much but here we are ahahah ^^’ Hope it’s a pleasant reading for you @tmakisamajiki!♡ *I’ll put it below ‘read more’ because it’s long*

“hi, I’m not from the US” ask set

1. Favourite place in your country?

A hard question! >.> I travelled a lot in my country and I love a lot of different places equally for different reasons. I don’t have one in particular so I’ll name some of the places where I left my heart ^^

Ischia and Capri, two of the islands in the Gulf of Naples: breath-taking panorama, crystal-clear sea, beautiful towns, friendly people and wonderful memories.

Venice (Venezia): apart from the sea and the famous canals, there are a lot of beautiful buildings and churches and you can easily see the centuries-old history of the city (and of Italy, in general) all around you. Then there’s the famous Carnival, which I saw two years ago (and I’ll see it again next year in February), and it’s like going back in time with all those beautiful masks and costumes and shows on the water. I’d suggest visiting it at night too, when the lights reflect on the water, it’s really suggestive! You’ll feel like a 1700/1800′s lady/gentleman going to a secret masquerade ball. Ah, and be sure to take a paper map with you (because apparently Google Maps doesn’t work in the heart of the city) or you’ll wander around in the dark like me searching for a bridge to cross to go back to the hotel (it was fun though).

Florence (Firenze): like Venice, it’s full of history and art. The city is beautiful but there are two things in particular that I like more than anything! The Cathedral of ‘Santa Maria del Fiore’ and the Uffizi Gallery. The first one is a masterpiece and the dome is very famous, you can visit it and, after going up through a lot of stairs, you can see all Florence from above. The latter is one of the biggest art museums in Italy and it has artworks and masterpieces from a lot of different centuries, but most of all from the Renaissance period. You can easily get lost because the museum is huge!

Last but not least, the ‘Riviera del Conero’, which is near the city where I was born and where I’ve lived for 18 years: it’s not a single place or city, but it’s a sum of places, towns and beaches on the coastline in front of the Adriatic Sea. There the blue sea meets a single green mountain and a lot of beautiful hills all around, with a lot of picturesque little towns - I really miss those panoramas. ^^

13. Does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?

Definitely! I know some of them but in general my family and I are not very superstitious. For example, if you let salt spill, you need to toss some of it behind you to avoid misfortune. Another one is that number 17 brings bad luck… and if something bad happens or if someone talks about hypothetical bad events, you’ll probably see Italians ‘fare le corna’ with their hand (literally ‘do the horns’, but you can also ‘toccare ferro’ - ‘touch iron’) to dispel bad vibes/avoid unlucky events etc.. If you want to wish good luck, you’ll probably hear a lot of ‘in bocca al lupo!’ (’into the wolf’s mouth!’)too and the one receiving it replying ‘crepi/crepi il lupo’ (’let the wolf die’). Another one that comes to my mind is the one that, at New Year’s Eve, you need to eat a lot of lentils to, hopefully, make a lot of money in the new year.

We have a lot of traditions too, and every city has its own - I’m not very well informed on the strange regional ones though! ^^’ The ones held everywhere and every year in Italy (and from what I know, not abroad) are, for example, the Carnival (usually in February) and ‘la Befana’ (on Epiphany’s Eve and on January 6). ‘La Befana’ is an old woman (a good witch) on a broom that brings sweets or gifts to good kids and coal to bad ones (nowadays the coal is a sweet too though, and your toungue becomes all black after eating it) and she usually puts them in a sock or shoe put out by kids.

28. Does your country have a lot of lakes, mountains, rivers? Do you have favourites?

Yes! Italy has so much variety in its landscapes! I visited Northern Italy, the Alps and the Apennines a lot of times and I must say there’s a particular alpin lake in Alto Adige (a region in Northern Italy) that still makes me go ‘wow’ everytime I visit it! It’s called Carezza Lake, it’s not very big but its peculiarity is in its colours and in the panorama ^^ It’s at the foot of the Dolomites surrounded by a green forest, and the lake itself is blue and green like a jewel - it’s also called the ‘Raibow Lake’ for its colours when the sun comes out 🌈

Speaking of mountains, it’s a must to name the Mont Blanc. I visited it on a summer holiday some years ago and I still remember the breath-taking view from the refuge near it. At more than 3.300m you could see everything in the valleys below and walk in the snow even on a sunny summer day! ❄️

Regarding rivers, there’s the river Po, Italy’s most important river… It’s really big and apart from the nice view when travelling on bridges, the true beauty is at the delta for its particular landscape and the variety of animals/plants connected to it! I visited it by boat when I was in middle school and it was a wonderful experience ✨

#ask #tmakisamajiki #thank you for the ask!! <3 #italy #vitto.speaks

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oriolgaldon-blog · 6 years ago

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📍Dolomiti. They form a part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley (Pieve di Cadore) in the east. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖. . . . . #motorcycle #bikelife #motorbike #bike #biker #motorcycles #makelifearide #mountain #ride #vacation #instabike #photooftheday #travelholic #instamotorcycle #bikergang #travelingram #instamotogallery #travelblogger #dolomiti #bmwgs #bikestagram #moto #bmw #instago #bikers #instagood #travelgram #rideout #bikersofinstagram #igtravel ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖. @givibarcelona @bidisafe_alerta_medica @cuidomibarba @grupo.detector (en Cortina d'Ampezzo) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnDXyyQn_So/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=kak4xnnibgjc

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iflynfeast · 3 years ago

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The Dolomites, also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east.

The Dolomites are renowned for skiing in the winter months and mountain climbing, hiking, cycling, and BASE jumping, as well as paragliding and hang gliding in summer and late spring/early autumn.

#iflynfeast #travel #wanderlust #solofemaletraveler #travelgram

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civilengineering-crimson · 3 years ago

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Advancements in Civil Engineering & Technology_ Crimson Publishers

Some Unexpected Results of Experimental Measurement of Papers in Experiments in Fluids by Tang JH in Advancements in Civil Engineering & Technology

Abstract

In project of applied geotechnical engineering it is necessary to know the shearing characteristics of the soil in place. In some cases, it is not possible to recover intact samples, maintaining their representative mechanical properties and analyzing them in the laboratory. It is, therefore, necessary to carry out tests in situ to determine the mechanical characteristics of soil that are essential to project design. This article reports a practical case study on alluvial sediments with a coarse gravel sandy texture. For its appropriate analysis a large in situ direct shear test has been designed and performed. This technique identified the presence of a weak soil cementation by natural calcite and its important effect on geotechnical soil failure behavior. Moreover, the test stated the unusual shear characteristics for a granular soil-structure of alluvial origin, and the proper cohesion and friction angle values (C=36.9 kPa; ϕ= 52°) to consider in the project.

Keywords: In situ direct shear test; Gravel granular material; Natural cemented soil; Geo Identity Research

Introduction

The geological environment is represented by fluvioglacial sediments with natural cemented soils composed of clean gravel, with pebbles, sand and well-rounded grain shape. The traditional investigations, such as geo-gnostic surveys and excavations, alter mechanically the natural state of this soils removing the partial vadose cementation between grains and consequently sampled soil appear as loose granular material. Both the in situ and laboratory geotechnical tests can miscalculate or underestimate its shear characteristics, which are essential in designing projects. In this case also a small amount of cementation of soil was still of essential importance, because the project included the hydraulic thrust of a large concrete monolithic box into the ground and the soil strength properties play a critical role to the construction accomplishment. Therefore, to define the strength characteristics of materials, experimental large in situ direct shear test has been designed and performed. This publication presents a geological and hydrogeological description of the zone, the carried out direct shear test and its geotechnical results, with evaluation of the shear resistance of investigated soil.

Material and Methods

Site and geology description

This trial was conducted in Northern Italy, precisely at the GPS Coordinate: 45°25’37.3”N 10°56’50.6”E. From geological point of view the area belongs to the central part of the high Po Valley, which is characterized by well-defined geomorphological and hydrogeological features. It is a large portion of territory between the morainic hills of Garda Lake, on the West side, the northern massive carbonate from the chain of Lessini mountains and, on the south, the so-called water reviving line on the Pianura Veronese. The morphological distinctive element of this area is undoubtedly made up of the huge alluvial fan of the Adige River. It was formed in the Quaternary era by the input of massive quantity of debris material, transported by the river that stemmed from the great Pleistocene Alpine glaciers. The catchment basin of the Adige River is composed of many limestones Formations, which form a part of the Southern Limestone Alps complex. Water percolates through limestone and chalk during Quaternary periods were largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates. The re-deposition of this minerals in form of calcite cement in the porous sediment of the flood plain was so favored. From the hydrogeological point of view the area is composed of a single phreatic complex, whose piezometric surface is located between -50 m and -52 m below the surface [1,2]. The subsoils have been explored with geological surveys and its stratigraphy indicates a thick sediments layer of several decameters composed by gravel to gravelly-stony materials, with sporadic sandy matrix and local traces of silt. The grains that compose the subsoil are cemented by natural calcite with an open-porphyric pattern, in which the primary grains float in the expanding crystal matrix [3]. In this particular case ionicly bonded calcite forms a thin film coat that covers the grains at particle contact points, providing a weak cementation of the soil while this preserves a high level of porosity.

Analytical methods

For the evaluation of the geotechnical soil properties following tests were performed: Classification of the material by soil particle size analysis and Atterberg limits according to standard CNR-UNI 10006 [4]; determination of bulk density in the site according to technical standard CNR n. 22 [5]; determination of the soil resistance parameters through direct shear test in the site according to ASTM D 4554 [6]. Regarding the latter, a large in-situ direct test was necessary to verify, direct in place and experimentally, the shearing features of the soil. Due to the lithological characteristics described above, undisturbed soil samples for laboratory analysis could not be taken in any way. A further problem was the representativeness of an eventual soil sample containing grains with dimension larger than then centimeter, that requires outsized and not normally available laboratory equipment. Thus, a sort of direct share box test has been assembled preserving the natural undisturbed soil inside of it (Figure 1). The size of the in situ tested samples was proportionate to that of the gravel present soil. The share box was assembled by a reinforced concrete casting that covers samples that were preventively excavate with high accuracy in soil. The direct shear test consists in subjecting the soil sample to two forces acting on orthogonal planes to each other, a vertical σ stress and a horizontal cutting τ stress, to verify its behavior till to the critical state. In consideration of the geological engineering problem of interest, shear tests were carried out in a low range of vertical load, which should reflect the stress state of the soil in real conditions.

Figure 1:Layout of the large in situ direct test.

Result and Discussion

Soil characteristics

The study of the grain size distribution curves classifies the soil as clean gravel (silty fine fraction <2.3%) with pebbles and sand, well sorted, hazel color with rounded to sub-rounded shape, weakly cemented and with strong reaction to hydrochloric acid. According to Unified Soil Classification System USCS [7] the soil corresponds to the group GP, poorly graded gravel. The Atterberg limits indicate instead: plastic limit PL= non-plastic; plastic index IP=0. An extremely reduced presence of silt-fraction was therefore confirmed, and this leads to the exclude any cohesive action provided by the soil fine-matrix. On site defined bulk density revealed the following values, typical of a dry compact soil: Dry bulk density: γd= 1,93 t/m3; Water content in its natural state: w=4.3 %.

Shear resistance

The stress-controlled tests were performed on a total of five samples and completed under drained condition. The shear characteristics have been defined with reference to the stress state recorded at the peak of the stress-strain curves (Table 1). To predict the shear strength in drained conditions the Mohr-Coulomb theory may be used [8]. In terms of effective stresses, the shear strength is often approximated using the equation: τ=c + σ tanϕ. Were “c” is called cohesion, ϕ is the angle of internal friction and σ is the total stress applied normal to the shear plan. As confirmation of the good result of the test carried out and the consequential reliability of the obtained data, it should be noted the curved trend of the experimental interpolation which passes through all the points defined by the shear tests (Figure 2). This in analogy with the curvature (nonlinearity) of the theoretical failure envelope that occurs because the dilatancy of closely packed soil particles on confining pressure. The intercept of the fitting curve on the τ shear stress axis represent the natural cohesion of soil we were evaluating.

Table 1:Recorded values of normal stress (σn) and the peak shear stress (τ) on the tested soil samples

Characteristic shear strength parameter of soils like cohesion and friction angle could be extrapolated from the failure curve. A linear interpolation of data set bound to the minimum value of shear stress provide values of intercept and inclination respectively equal to c=21kPa and ϕ=55°. The natural morphology of the project location defines the presence of a modest lithostatic stress, due to the shallow depth under the surface of the underpass excavation. Therefore, in our real case the failure curve can be approximated to a straight line marked out in a normal stresses range close to that predicted in project (Figure 2). So, values of intercept and inclination provide values of cohesion C=36.9kPa and soil friction angle ϕ=52°. These values are significantly higher than those normally considered for loose ground, even if partially cohesive. Moreover, test samples contain only 2.3% of fine fraction <0.075 and so we can exclude the presence of cohesion for this poorly graded gravel soil [9-11]. Moreover, the tests confirmed the presence of a weak cementation that influences the constructive design techniques.

Figure 2:Representation on the σ-τ plane of the direct shear tests results.

Drained stress strain curves

Figure 3:Detail of the stress/strain behaviour with any normal stress applied on sample five.

The weak cementation of soil, otherwise undetectable by geognostic routine analysis, is confirmed by the stress-strain curve of the sample number five (Figure 3), for which the test was performed with any normal stress. This curve describes the non-frictional part of the shear resistance which is independent of the normal stress, and the stress-strain response directly represent the strength of cemented material. In fact, by placing σ=0 in the Mohr-Coulomb equation (τ=c + σ tanϕ), the shear strength depends theoretically only on the cementation (τ=c). The curve shows in its initial part the absence of share strain, due to the resistance offered by the stiffness properties of the grain’s cementation. By increasing the shear stress produce a progressive failure of the ionic bonds that cement the soil grains, and the critical state is passing from elastic to elastoplastic, which drives volumetric changes in the sample. After that interparticle bonds are broken, a stress strain curve typical for a drained dilatant soil is shown, which is no more depending from the intergranular contact forces of cement. The presence of a substantial bonding action between grains offered by a weak carbonate cementation was therefore confirmed, and a smooth transition between the fully cemented zone and the fully plastic zone occurs [12]. The complete set of tests data are illustrated in Figure 4, where the stress strain curves appears often complicated by the non-uniformity of sample deformation [13]. But this should be considerate usual and not unique to the here described tests. The trial indicates moreover that the share strain range should be chosen carefully. Soil preconsolidation pressure should be applied with caution in such a brittle behavior, as not to favor the breakage of ionic bonds of the weak calcite cement even before the test start.

Figure 4:Shear Stress-Horizontal displacement curves under different normal stress. The initial elastic deformation is due to the cohesion effect of the calcite crystals in the sediment pore spaces. The overlap of all the curves in this first sector confirms the soil uniformity and the test consistency.

Conclusion

The behavior of a natural weak cemented gravel soil was investigated by carrying out a large in situ direct shear test. The applied method can be a practical tool to overcome the problems arising from the inability to test very coarse and cemented soils in the standard shear-box apparatus or using other classical in situ tests. Experimental results show a significant effect of cementation, influencing both the stress-strain behavior and the peak strength at strains beyond those required to fracture the cement bonding. The cementation increases the shear modulus and size of the yield locus, but little effect on initial volume change because of the weak grade of cementation was observed. Although the soil cementation strength was reduced, it was in practice able to hinder the directional forward translation of the concrete monolithic box, affecting the constructive design techniques. Exhaustive knowledges of the site and of its geological history should have been essential for the correct preliminary classification of subsoils and for the planning of geotechnical surveys. Tests conducted in the absence of such geological information may lead to improper estimation of the strength characteristics of the material, affecting the design and construction choices.

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