Borghi storici, rovine, monumenti. Esperienze e prospettive di ricerca sui centri storici abbandonati in ambito italiano

Since ancient times, the phenomenon of the abandonment of urban sites is one of the greatest testimonies of the complex and delicate balance between the strategies of human settlement and the multiple factors that influence its dynamics: slow and spread over decades or more sudden and drastic, these latter may be the result of the overlap of issues related to anthropic events such as the war damages, to natural actions − floods, landslides and earthquakes − as well as to the mutations of the economic and social conditions (de-ruralization, aging, etc.). Once compromised the safety conditions of the towns, once determined the often "forced" removal of inhabitants and their displacement in "new towns", the absence of the urban community triggers accelerated degradation mechanisms and consumption which, if not stopped in time, can lead to the inevitable and rapid loss of cultural heritage. The preservation of the "ghost towns", spread throughout Europe and concentrated in the Italian context mainly along the Central-Southern Apennines, is, therefore, a complex cultural challenge which covers psychological, economic, technical as well as social and aesthetic instances. In order to properly defining the possible actions is essential to comprehend the reasons of the "disposal" of urban settlements through the interpretation of their history, and with it, of the multiplicity of values, both tangible and intangible, which are kept in their architecture and open spaces. In both them is possible, in fact, to recognize an extraordinary documentary value so much with respect to the understanding of traditional building techniques and to the use of local materials as to the analysis of the various ways of use of the spaces whose traces are frequently still legible in the ancient palimpsest. Moreover, if on the one hand, the absence of people and the sudden or gradual abandonment of the architecture have ensured, in a sense, the preservation of authentic materials and of the values contained in it, on the other hand the possibility of returning to enjoy the places, through the restoration of architectures and urban landscapes and through the improvement of their accessibility, stands as a tool for the protection of the heritage they represent. Because of these considerations and within an in progress research program, focused, particularly on Tocco Caudio (BN), the paper focuses the attention on recent interventions and strategies aimed at the rehabilitation of sites partially or totally abandoned in the Italian context, analyzing the objectives that substantiate the choices relating to safeguarding of constituted assets. The experiences under investigation are intended to create an "atlas" of best practices which, within the complex restorative approach, could provide an useful cultural stimulation to interventions respectful of the multiplicity of issues and values involved in cultural heritage.