Résumé en anglais
The operations described are a part of the research now being done at the Building Institute of the Florence Architecture Faculty and represent the first approach to systematic research on the behaviour of coursed masonry or brick structures with the aid of photo-elastic techniques. The paper gives the results obtained by photo-elastic observation following tests on architectural members: inside walls, corbels, pilasters, arches and lintel courses. It was possible by this method to determine the degree of stress existing in the structures examined.