Esplorazioni di ricerca e didattica sul sistema difensivo di La Maddalena

The paper illustrates the first results of the academic educational project carried out on the defensive system of the archipelago of La Maddalena which involved students of the course of 'Protection of the historical landscape' and of the 'Laboratory of theory and architectural design'. The study began with the cartographic reconstruction of the dense network of artefacts that belonged to the complex military stronghold, stratified on the territory from the mid-nineteenth century until the years of the Cold War. Then, the study focused on five forts (Punta Rossa, Poggio Rasu Superiore and lower, Eagle's Nest, Opera Villa, Opera Colmi) and the G. Pes battery of Villamarina in the Compendium of the Guardia del Turco, unarmed site during the First World War and then used as a deposit of various materials from the institutions of the Naval Base of La Maddalena, actually owner. In particular, on the five sites, the study concerned the architectural analysis, the construction of the model and the digital model, the possibilities for functional requalification and the re-use project. In the case of Guardia del Turco, the study also concerned the typological analysis of the artefacts, the chronotypology of the construction techniques based on the transcription of the historical technical specifications, the identification of the landscape components preliminary to the procedure of verification of cultural interest of the site and the definition of guidelines for sustainable conservation and reuse - extendable to the other cases examined - as well as the construction of first hypotheses of valorisation under a possible dual use regime. These findings also highlighted the conservation action carried out by maintaining military use over time. The work has been possible thanks to the collaboration agreement signed between the Italian Ministry of Defence and the University of Cagliari for cooperation on the issues of the redevelopment of the areas and military infrastructure of Sardinia. In terms of educational process, the experience of the exploratory project has certainly generated some operational difficulties in the performance of the activities, but has also allowed the introduction in the training offer of the opportunity for students of the Master of Science in Architecture to become aware of a real context of inter-institutional comparison and interdisciplinary work, which is proper to the role of coordination of competences that characterizes the professional figure of the architect.