Abstract
Reducing the seismic vulnerability of heritage assets remains challenging, as cultural significance, uncertainties, ageing, and past alterations make it difficult to improve safety while respecting conservation principles. Structural control can complement traditional strengthening techniques by modifying vibration energy transmission and dissipation. This paper reviews structural control solutions and their application to the seismic protection of cultural heritage, defined as assets protected at international, national, or local levels. Passive, active, semi-active, and hybrid systems are first organised by control class and physical mechanism and interpreted through an energy-based perspective. Full-scale applications were identified through a documented search and coded by heritage designation, retained fabric, documentation level, and type of performance evidence. In the resulting corpus of 53 applications, passive seismic isolation prevails, while dissipative connections and mass dampers are less frequent, reflecting the documented corpus rather than professional practice. No feedback-controlled system was documented in scientific or technical literature, although two recent installations have been reported by stakeholders. Post-installation tests, monitoring and recorded earthquake responses cover a minority of cases. The review discusses compatibility with conservation requirements and practical limitations, concluding with a heritage-specific comparison of technologies and prioritised research needs. Applications to movable heritage assets are discussed separately for comparison.