The paper presents a comprehensive numerical study on the 13th century clock-tower in Finale Emilia, also known as “Torre dei Modenesi”, which has become a symbol of the devastating earthquake occurred in Emilia Romagna, Italy in May 2012.

The two main seismic events, occurred on May 20 and 29, were characterized by the presence of low frequency ground motions, with relevant vertical components, as typical of near field earthquakes. As a consequence, from a structural point of view, structures having natural periods greater than those typical of ordinary buildings -such as the one analyzed- have been severely damaged.

As a consequence of the first tremor (4.03 AM, 20^th of May), the clock-tower was sheared in two, with one half collapsing into rubble and the other standing precariously. The subsequent strong aftershock in the afternoon, caused the almost total failure of the structure.

In the paper, a number of different numerical models are critically compared, in order to have an insight into the causes which led to the collapse of the structure.

Different numerical analyses have been performed, including nonlinear static, limit and dynamic analyses. To this purpose, a full three-dimensional (3D) detailed finite element model (FEM) has been developed, starting from the available documentation (photographs and existing drawings), trying different directions for the seismic load and assuming different hypotheses about the level of interconnection between the core and the external walls and between internal and external leafs within perimeter walls. Both commercial and non-commercial codes have been used, assuming for masonry both smeared crack isotropic and homogenized anisotropic models with softening.

Experimental data available have been employed to calibrate elastic and inelastic masonry parameters, to be used within the FEM non-linear analyses. The dynamic analyses are performed using a real acceleration record, registered close to the epicenter during the shock occurred on the 20^th of May.

From the numerical results, both the role played by the actual geometry and the insufficient resistance of the constituent materials are envisaged; also, a detailed comparison of the failure mechanisms provided by the incremental FEM and limit analyses is provided, also in light of the actual failure mechanism. In all cases, the numerical analyses provide a valuable picture of all possible failure mechanisms, thus giving useful hints for the reconstruction of the tower.