Riaprire gli spazi della cultura. Valutare l'efficacia dei protocolli di sicurezza COVID-19

COVID-19 pandemic stopped all public events around the world, including the cultural events hosted in historical buildings, such as theaters, arenas and halls, to ensure people distancing. Vaccination campaing boosted cultural events restarting, but tailored safety protocols, including time and proximity exposure mitigation, should be updated depending on the current pandemic conditions and on the specific geometric and technical characteristics of historical buildings. This study proposes a simulation-based model to evaluate safety protocols efficacy by applying it to the Arena dello Sferisterio (Macerata, Italy) case study. The impact of access control, queue control, occupants’ number and movement control were analyzed through 300’000 simulations in terms of contagion spreading. Results show how it is possible to progressively increase the cultural building capacity by implementing strict control of access policies and audience’s movemen