Abstract
Can a seismic event be seen as an opportunity for the conservation of architectural heritage? This question was the starting point for the discussions that were held during the feedback from the cognitive analysis which was in turn preliminary to the formation of the Reconstruction Plan of Fossa, one of the many small historic settlements heavily damaged by the L’Aquila earthquake in 2009. In this study, the medieval castle which characterizes the historic centre, becomes the paradigm to show that, if the post-earthquake reconstruction is tackled with a perspective that focuses on sustainability and preservation of the building fabric, the monuments, which are at its heart, will inevitably be involved in a new phase, that recognizes in their historical nature the profound meaning of their beauty.
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Notes
- 1.
The University of Naples “L’Orientale” (scientific responsible Prof. F. Pesando) is in charge for the excavation of Aveia-Fossa from 2007).
- 2.
The building of the Castle was due to ‘incastellamento’, a process with both defensive and territorial aims that was pursued by the monastic and lay feudal Lords in the large mountain areas of Abruzzo.
- 3.
Post-earthquake analyses were accompanied by a documental investigation—both in the L’Aquila State Archives and in the Municipality Historic Archives—that provided a completion of knowing on historic transformation referring to nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
- 4.
A list of important cultural sites in the territory includes the Santa Maria ad Cryptas (built on the remains of a Roman-Byzantine hypogeum), the Vestina Necropolis (over 5000 m², where about 6000 tombs dating from the ninth to the first centuries BC have been found); and the remains of the Roman city of Aveja.
- 5.
The project rethinks the castle accesses (1, 2, 3, 4) and some buildings functions (A, B, C, D).
- 6.
Chiarizia G. (1985), Progetto per la salvaguardia della parte alta del paese e consolidamento delle mura del castello. Archivio Soprintendenza BAP, L’Aquila.
- 7.
This paper is the results of an extended collaboration among the Authors during the elaboration of the Fossa Post Earthquake Reconstruction Plan, carried out during 2011 and 2012. In particular, Caterina F. Carocci wrote the parts devoted to the methodological approaches both of the plan and the castle analyses, while Fabrizia Campisi and Irene Tranchina those describing the results of the fact-finding analysis and the castle project.
References
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Carocci, C.F., Campisi, F., Tranchina, I. (2015). Earthquake and Enhancement: An Opportunity to Preserve the Medieval Castle of Fossa (L’Aquila, Italy). In: Toniolo, L., Boriani, M., Guidi, G. (eds) Built Heritage: Monitoring Conservation Management. Research for Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08533-3_20
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