Preservation of Abandoned Historic Centres—The Case of Poggioreale antica (Sicily)

Caterina F. Carocci (), Francesco Cannizzaro, Salvatore Cocina, Alessia Di Martino, Renata Finocchiaro, Nicola Impollonia, Valentina Macca, Antonino Terrana and Cesare Tocci
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Caterina F. Carocci: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, SDS Architecture and Cultural Heritage, Università degli Studi di Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy
Francesco Cannizzaro: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, SDS Architecture and Cultural Heritage, Università degli Studi di Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy
Salvatore Cocina: Dipartimento di Protezione Civile, Regione Siciliana, 90100 Palermo, Italy
Alessia Di Martino: Department of Cultural Heritage, Architecture, Urban Planning, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, 89121 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Renata Finocchiaro: Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino, 10121 Torino, Italy
Nicola Impollonia: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, SDS Architecture and Cultural Heritage, Università degli Studi di Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy
Valentina Macca: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, SDS Architecture and Cultural Heritage, Università degli Studi di Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy
Antonino Terrana: Dipartimento di Protezione Civile, Regione Siciliana, 90100 Palermo, Italy
Cesare Tocci: Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino, 10121 Torino, Italy

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Among the fourteen towns most damaged by the earthquake that struck western Sicily in 1968, Poggioreale was subjected to total relocation a few kilometres away, and to the transfer of its whole population. More than half a century later, the damaged settlement is still largely recognisable and has been experiencing a new season of interest for some years now, both from the local community and various kinds of outsiders who imagine economic spin-offs of an uncertain nature in its enhancement. The research we present questions the chance of survival for the settlement, forgotten for decades, in the context of interventions aimed at its reuse. Alternative strategies are discussed: on the one hand, that of bringing the ancient centre back to life, even in part, with a limited inclusion of collective functions and without claiming to inhabit it again; on the other hand, and in the authors’ opinion, more likely, that of reusing the ruins as an archaeological area preserving their memory in a different form. In either case, the kinds of operations to be carried out on the body of the ancient buildings for their physical preservation play a key role. These issues are addressed as a whole through the canonical procedure of correlating the phases of knowledge, interpretation, and definition of minimal and compatible intervention criteria.

Keywords: Poggioreale; Sicily; historical settlement; cultural route; safety and preservation; earthquake; abandonment; community memory; environmental management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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