The seismic sequence that occurred in Emilia Region on May 2012 caused serious damage to specific building types (e.g. industrial sheds designed without any aseismic prescriptions) and cultural heritage buildings. The distinctive features of the seismic motion, recorded also very close to the epicentre, are a significant spectral displacement demand at long periods and a very high vertical component. These are very critical for structures characterized by long periods, as churches or bell tower, or for standing out elements, as pinnacles or battlements. The paper presents a preliminary damage assessment of traditional masonry constructions (both ordinary and monumental), made by solid brick masonry with lime mortar. Observed damage has been interpreted through simplified mechanical models, by using the displacement-based approach. It is worth noting that the behaviour of ordinary residential buildings was quite good, thanks to the good connection between masonry walls and the localization of cracks in the spandrels, which guaranteed high displacement capacity.