Il risveglio del gigante dormiente. La riattivazione del complesso della SS. Trinità delle Monache a Napoli

The monumental complex of the SS. Trinità delle Monache in Naples lies on the slopes of the hill of San Martino, between the noise of the Quartieri Spagnoli and the gravity of Castel Sant'Elmo with the Certosa: it was built as a nunnery in the early 1600s, on the northern bastion of the viceroyalty walls. It has been Military hospital from 1806 to 1992. The complex is now partially in use and its most monumental parts appear to be in a state of neglect. However, the sleeping time seems to be finished. An alarm clock from the European Community, URBACT 2nd chance, has repeated "WAKE UP THE SLEEPING GIANT!". A participatory process has just been completed to return the complex to the city and its citizens. Several actors were involved, including DiARC, Department of Architecture of the Federico II University of Naples: representatives of teachers and students took part in the construction of the Local Action Plan for the reactivation of the architectural complex, sharing a wealth of knowledge and design experimentations built with the work of design laboratories, workshops, seminars and curricular internships. The contribution illustrates some results of the scientific collaboration agreement between the Municipality of Naples and DiARC for the recovery and re-functionalization of the complex, underlining the ability of research and of the architecture project to respond with contemporary and shared terms to external reality issues.