The conservation of Castelvecchio Calvisio (AQ): principles and purposes

There are a lot of theoretical and practical issues relating to the conservation of a small historical center - in particular Castelvecchio. Among them it’s important to reflect on the following critical points: - the conservation of building types, which are likely to be distorted for renovation and the problems of compatible reuse (eg. a ‘widespread hotel’ can be compatible, provided that it doesn’t distort the original structure) - problems of accessibility and safety (unprotected ‘profferli’ stairs) - structural reinforcement (which kind of consolidation techniques are compatible with masonries in exposed stone?) - restoration materials (compatibility and visibility of new materials, not trivial analogy!) with particular reference to the urban floor - interventions on architectural surfaces (the need of do not alter the aspect and the authenticity of buildings, and of do not distort landscape) - urban development: the village presents an area of historical expansion and a series of recent buildings along the main access road and near the fortified settlement. This settlement must be preserved in its integrity, in order to prevent further new buildings and to encourage the restoration of built heritage. Till now, the preservation of authenticity has been paradoxically assured by abandonment, that has avoided an uncontrolled expansion and misuse, with consequent upheavals of the building units and of the historic fabric. Currently, the need of reuse and ‘reconstruction’ after the earthquake is likely to conflict with the conservative requests, with such effects that can seriously distort the entire context; this occurs particularly for minor buildings, which are not subjected to architectural protection, but only to landscape protection, in fact ineffective. Castelvecchio current situation requires a series of restorations in order to prevent a further deterioration and the loss of his heritage (this risk is shown by the remains of buildings that were abandoned after the earthquake of 1915, now in ruins or completely disappeared). The conservation should promote the use of architectural and urban heritage (by starting territory promotion policies) but it must be based on compatible reuse choices and not only on the priority to return houses to citizens. This latter requirement has generally determined a ‘reversal’ of values due to the need for security and recovery of fitness for use. Structural and functional requirements are not to be considered prominent compared to the conservative instances; otherwise there would be a risk of prevaricating the urban fabric and territory image and authenticity.