Patrimonio culturale e restauro dopo una catastrofe

In the post-seismic context of L’Aquila and Central Italy in general, there is a basic misunderstanding with respect to the meaning and purpose of the restoration of architecture. An irreconcilable contradiction seems to separate the disciplinary approach (refined through international and theoretical reflections and concrete experience of restoration and reconstruction carried out after countless destructions) from everyday perception and exclusively technical approaches, which disregard historical understanding and the cultural need to safeguard material testimonies. In the circumstances following a disaster, restoration appears generally misunderstood as a nostalgic and impossible return to previous situations, or reduced to the preservation of the abstract form, or limited to decorative issues considered as separable accessories from the architectural context. In any case, it is placed in the background with respect to the priorities imposed by structural safety (which, however, must be based on historical-constructive and material knowledge of architecture) and by the practical needs of functional recovery of damaged buildings. The understanding of the multiple values of architecture, both historical and contemporary, is therefore distorted when not completely cancelled; the results of this partial and reductive vision are evident through ‘redevelopment’ interventions that limit the meaning of architecture to real estate assets. The contributions of historical, historical-constructive and material knowledge provided by the restoration may appear marginal, if it is not recognized that they provide the essential basis for carrying out a ‘knowledge path’ indicated by the Guidelines for the assessment and reduction of seismic risk, as well as highlighting the values of a cultural heritage often devoid of meaning. These contributions are therefore strategic not only for planning reconstruction interventions, but also establishing on the basis of real cultural issues the socio-economic recovery of those territories hit by the earthquake. The historical reading and understanding of the stratified context that characterizes the territories of Italy (where action is taken at every scale, from the single building to the city and its territory) therefore assumes a central role in reflecting on the meaning of conservation and cultural transmission, for the purpose to deliver to the future an authentic heritage that preserves the traces of history and the signs of events that have taken place.