The Acoustics of the Church of Santa Sofia in Benevento

This paper presents the results of acoustic measurements and of numerical simulation carried out in the Longobard church of Santa Sofia in Benevento (Italy). The church is on a central plan, in the centre there are six columns which support the dome. The church was built by the Duke Gisulfo II and completed by Arechi II during the Longobard period. It was completed in the year 762, as the Church of the Longobard people, and it was the most daring and imaginative construction of the high Middle age. Arechi II entitled the church to Santa Sofia, that is, to the Holy Wisdom. The acoustic measurement were carried out with a sound source on the altar, and the microphones in the audience area. The average value of reverberation time, with the empty room, at the frequency of 1.0 kHz was about 1.5 s, so the church can be used for good listening of the speech. To better understand the sound distribution in the church the software Odeon, for the architectural acoustic, was used. After the virtual model acoustic calibration were analysed the spatial distribution of the acoustic parameters (EDT, T30, C80 D50 and STI).