Modern coastal heritage as urban identity. New scenarios for the conservation and enhancement of Palazzata a Mare in Messina, Italy

The paper investigates the conservation of maritime modern architecture through the case-study of Palazzata a Mare in Messina, in south Italy. Designed in 1929 by Samonà, Leone, Viola and Autore, the building represents a radical rearrangement of the city waterfront, devastated by the catastrophic earthquake of 1908. This event led to the collapse of the incomplete 19th century Palazzata, which had taken the place of the earlier Teatro Marittimo, heavily damaged by previous earthquake in 1783. The project recalled the previous profile of the waterfront while emerging, at the same time, as the product of innovative construction techniques of the early 20th century. Adopting a new volumetric and technological approach, the architects segmented the old waterfront into thirteen volumes. All the buildings designed stands as a significant example of Modern Heritage, showcasing experimentation with materials considered as cutting-edge at the time and displaying new construction techniques of the period as stone cladding façades. All structures built along the Messina waterfront starting from the 1930s exemplify advancements in structural design in compliance with new seismic regulations introduced after the 1908 earthquake. Starting by the case-study, the paper highlights the role of city waterfront redesign during the first half of the 20th century, analysing, in the first part, the contemporary conservative issues of the Palazzata in its relationship with the city’s coastline: which are the specific forms of degradation that affect these architectures nowadays? Which are the specific ones caused by the environmental factors? The second part of the paper is focused on one of these buildings, the INAIL, located in the eighth lot of the extended Palazzata. Completed after the end of World War II, the need to limit the use of iron in the construction of this building led the architects to design a structure composed entirely of load-bearing masonry, clad in thin travertine slabs, thereby maintaining coherence with the architectural style of its era. The building will be especially examined in relation to conservation challenges typical of early 20th century constructions, leading on conservative scenarios and methodological practices for the intervention on the coastal modern architecture.