History as tradition. The relationship with the historical context in recent projects in sicily

Abstract

Sicily can be considered architecturally as a depot of memory. This is due in part to the fact that this region has an important past and a present that lasts for more than a century, in which the economy has not been able to update the architecture and cities. This paper will examine recent attempts to conserve and restore the unique cultural heritage and historic built environment of few sicilian towns: Salemi, Ortigia, Gela, Favara and Mazara del Vallo. The aim is to compare some architectural interventions that are all based on the use of local and traditional materials but have different attitudes in the field of memory in relation to the specificity of the place in which they are inserted. Within the general conditions of urban decay, architecture and art are vehicles to renewal urban centres and relate memory of places to present days.