The sence of Place. Ildiri: the bond between the urban fabric and its history

This paper is a part of research on the rehabilitation of those villages in the Mediterranean area that have historical - archaeological value and on their updating in relation to the new social and economic needs. The small Turkish village of IIdiri, on the Aegean coast, is one of them. IIdiri is inserted in a shallow-water cove surrounded by small satellite islands and hidden behind Chios Island. The coastal landscape shows very precious crops and extraordinary forest reserves. Thanks to its position and resources, it underwent, during the centuries, the influence of different people and cultures, transforming itself from the small port of the first Mediterranean sailors to the remarkable town of the Greeks and Romans (the old Erythrae), till the public structures of the Byzantines and Ottomans. Today, the strong interests of tourism along the Cesme peninsula are violently cancelling this ancient history. IIdiri is sentenced to be dismantled giving way to a modern resort town scattered along the coast. The aim of the research was to enhance the strong identity of urban space and its architectural layers without sacrificing the tourist potential of this settlement. To do this, an architectonic and urban intervention model has been produced that also focuses on technical and technological methods of construction. The model of an archaeological park associated with an urban ecomuseum is applied where the urban structure binds together the different cultural experiences of the landscape.