A case of sustainable conservation

Abstract

The preservation of architectural assets requires full training, updated knowledge and an interdisciplinary nature. Considering an architectural sites values and that many are no longer restorable once modified, the case is evident. It is legitimate that all taking part must operate in the full conscience of these values. However, there are cases in which it is not possible to make use of modern instruments and skilled labourcases in which the context and the economic availability narrow down possible choices. Adding to this a condition of urgency, it turns out that the above mentioned is no longer linearly applicable. At Voskopoj (Albania), today a village, once a flourishing cultural centre, still visible are 5/25 post-Byzantine churches. The plan for cultural saving in course (n.g.o. Patrimoine sans Frontires, Paris/France), has been, with local institutions, a movement for conservation of these assets that represent such important testimonies of the villages history, whose memory has been compromised through destructive actions, also by the natural exposed risks (seismic risk M6,9). Conserving these assets means conserving the historical memory of the place and people, giving them back a durable key of identity, an instrument for autonomy, and a coherent development with the past. Modernity in these cases is in developing the applicability of the above-mentioned competences, not only in hands-on terms but also in an awareness of the advisors role. The case of the church of the Prophet Elias, one of above mentioned five, has put forward a responsible reflection on these thematic ones, in that the conservation plan was to be elaborated with qualitative standards, and carried out through the involvement of local resources. This has been translated into an action of contextual acquaintance, in the appraisal of systems limits and in the consequent responsible action of specialized external technical support.