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Brick masonry is a multicomponent composite material, characterized by a marked inhomogeneity,  a  highly  anisotropic  behavior  arising  from the  complex  interactions  between joints  and  bricks,  and  a  considerable  spatial  variability  of  material  properties,  particularly relevant in the case of historical masonries. The focus of this paper is on the interdependence between the spatial variability of mechanical properties of joints and the overall homogenized response  of  a  given  volume  element  of  masonry.  It  is  assumed  that  mechanical  properties  of bed joints may vary according to a fixed probability distribution and correlation function and the mechanical response of the volume  element is investigated in terms of the overall elastic stiffness.  As  confirmed  by  preliminary  results,  the  spatial  variability  of  the  mechanical properties may affect the overall response of a masonry wall.

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