Vecchie derive e nuovi orientamenti nel progetto di restauro. Il futuro di due ex complessi francescani dismessi a confronto

This contribution aims to reflect on the role played by knowledge in the design of interventions that are compatible and respectful of the material and immaterial values of the cultural heritage. This role can be seen with greater emphasis in architectures characterised by multiple stratified uses which are intended as a synthesis of heterogeneous palimpsests of materials, techniques, forms, and languages of the past. Among them, an emblematic case is represented by convent and monastic architectures, which at the end of the 19th century were acquired by State Administrations to contribute to the construction of the new infrastructures of the rising Italian State. Restoration projects show a common tendency to attribute a maximum value to the original function that justifies the restoration of typologies, morphologies, spatiality, and languages, often causing the removal of signs resulting from the adaptation of the architecture to its subsequent functions. In order to reflect on this issue, two case studies are compared. These are considered paradigmatic for the symbolic implications, for the vicissitudes that have compromised their material consistency, and for the complexity of the design processes still underway. Specifically, this study intends to critically analyse the two interventions, starting from the state of the places before the beginning of the planning process, considering the main aims of the commissioners, the methodologies of the analysis applied, the knowledge apparatuses produced, the level of planning sensibility and the specialised experiences involved. It also wants to outline a synoptic framework, useful for assessing the expected results in terms of conservation, protection, and enhancement, as well as the final quality of the project, also in the light of the solutions adopted. The objective is to understand how the specialised knowledge – developed thanks to the synergic collaboration between different stakeholders – was able to influence the design solutions.