Acoustic analysis and experimental characterization of a confined environment: S. Chiara church theatre in Rome

The purpose of this thesis work is to investigate the qualities and deficiencies of the S. Chiara theatre, located in Rome in Via del Casaletto 691, in the parish of Santa Maria del Carmine e S. Giuseppe.
The work consisted in:
• A measurement campaign on site, divided into two phases:
‣ The measurement of the principal theatre dimensions and the determination of the positions of the stage, gallery, stalls and the important scenic/architectural elements in order to characterize the environment from an acoustic point of view;
‣ The measurement, using electroacoustic equipment, of the main acoustic parameters of the theatre (mainly reverberation time);
• Modelling (using RAMSETE acoustic prediction software) of the theatre, based on measurements previously taken on site;
• The simulation and calculation of the main objective acoustic parameters;
• The search for possible "problems" or acoustic defects (focus, echoes, etc...) based on the results provided by the software and the suggestion of possible solutions to improve the acoustics of the theatre.

The work on this thesis has been developed as follows:
• Chapter 1 outlines a brief excursus of the acoustics of listening rooms throughout the human history, from the Greek theatre of Epidaurus to the present day, passing through the W. C. studies. Sabine's studies that started architectural acoustics as a science;
• Chapter 2 outlines the physical fundamentals of sound propagation and defines some fundamental concepts such as reflection coefficients and directivity;
• Chapter 3 outlines the fundamental concepts related to signal processing, required to understand impulse response analysis, which will be used in this work to examine the acoustics of the theatre under examination;
• Chapter 4 gives an overview of the physical concepts underlying wave propagation in a confined environment, defining the physical quantities that govern its propagation (the most important of which is clearly the definition of reverberation time);
• Chapter 5 explains in broad terms the concept/algorithm behind modern acoustic prediction software and analyses the characteristics of the RAMSETE software used in this work;
• Chapter 6 finally gets to the heart of the analysis and, after a brief historical introduction of the structure, exposes the results of the measurement campaign and their interfacing with RAMSETE software.
The main objective acoustic parameters (divided into groups) will be analyzed in order to identify the merits and defects of the room and an auralization of a music track will be carried out.