New Life for Disused Religious Heritage: A Sustainable Approach

Alessandro Lo Faro and Alessia Miceli
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Alessandro Lo Faro: DICAr, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Alessia Miceli: DICAr, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-24

Abstract: The sustainable reuse of the built heritage is one of the main challenges of our time. Religious heritage, in particular, requires strong survey strategies and analyses in order to achieve consistent approaches for the conservation and transmission of its value, both material and immaterial. The exploitation of the latter is underpinned by knowledge analyses, prior to the conservation actions, with a focus not only on the techniques of material restoration but also on the values that it represents for the territory and local communities. With this aim, three case studies in Southern Italy are here presented, that offer a good example of how ecclesiastical heritage, although vast and diffuse, is still an undervalued asset. By combining accurate knowledge and historical research in comparison with the residual performance of the buildings, the results aim to demonstrate how integrated knowledge strategies can pursue more conscious choices of new possible uses for abandoned religious heritage, resulting in preserve their memory and add value in terms of social sustainability.

Keywords: religious heritage; sustainable reuse; social sustainability; hospitality; Sicily (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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