The archaeological park of Navelli (Italy) in the reconstruction plan: Hypothesis of adaptive reuse

Abstract

This study is aimed at identifying adaptive design strategies applied to the particular contexts of the Abruzzo Region during the post-earthquake reconstruction. The area affected by the calamitous event present material and immaterial issues to be interpreted and managed according to integrated and interdisciplinary intervention methods. In this context, the Reconstruction Plans (PdR) provide the guidelines for a coherent territorial development, proposing design solutions that call for sustainability and resilience. The village of Navelli, which 10 years after the earthquake is still in a serious state of damage and abandonment, is identified in the 2013 PdR as an area to be converted into an archaeological park. The Plan prescribes by specifications on the basis of identifying values of the area whilst inspections carried out reveal a stratified, vast and remarkably heterogeneous building fabric both as regards to the level of damage and the values to be protected. From the analyzes carried out, the case study provides the opportunity for an ad hoc design methodology, identified by specific interventions that are at the same time inter-dependent and included in a complex project. The work highlights how the overall design of a public space can find an easier resolution in the integration of adaptive and reversible technologies, coherent with the sustainable development suggested by the PdR.