In an age like the present one, marked by a growing sensitivity towards the issues of recovery and enhancement of minor historic centers, abandoned or in the process of depopulation, the case study of the medieval village of Craco is a pragmatic example of the settlements in Lucania affected by this phenomenon. Starting from 1963 a landslide, slow but unstoppable, undermined the survival of the village, so much to cause a progressive depopulation and transfer of all the inhabitants in the nearby village of Peschiera. A condition of geographic and infrastructural marginality together with the state of decay of the village, now deprived of its original vocation and constant maintenance, determined a radical transformation of the image of the village. The ruin aspect of the entire settlement, bathed in an unspoiled lunar landscape, has become the distinguishing and attractive note for an ever increasing number of visitors. Starting in 2013, the Scenographic Park of the ruins was established in Craco, which determined the securing of part of its buildings along a well-defined itinerary. However, the geological nature of the site together with the serious cracks of the buildings make the hypothesis of a complete recovery of the settlement unthinkable. Towards a valid proposal for conservation and enhancement of the village has been undertaken a cognitive process that, directed by Restoration, has tackled the study of the village, from the territorial to the urban and construction scale involving the disciplines of Surveying, Typological Characters of Architecture, Geology, Construction Technique, Estimates and Sociology. Several investigations have allowed to reconstruct the historical evolution of the village with its architectural relevance distributed along the visiting itinerary and the inaccessible ridge line, in order to understand its construction techniques, detect the state of conservation of the structures and surfaces and identify the real resources and opportunities of the territory. Results, obtained from the analyzes carried out, made it possible to formulate Guidelines, weighted between the two current antithetical visions: a positive one that considers practicable the recovery, at least partial, of the built environment through new forms of anthropization, and a more cautious one looking to a museum display for tourists. The design outcomes consist in: proposal of hydrogeological and landscape arrangement of slopes and rainwater regulation; enlargement and safety of the visiting itinerary; consolidation and preservation of the ruins only for scenographic purposes; restoration of a number of buildings aimed at their reuse for artistic, cultural, scientific and educational research activities.

In un’epoca come quella attuale, contraddistinta da una crescente sensibilità verso le tematiche del recupero e della valorizzazione dei centri storici minori in abbandono o in via di spopolamento, il caso studio del borgo medievale di Craco rappresenta un esempio pragmatico delle realtà insediative lucane interessate da tale fenomeno. A partire dal 1963 una frana, lenta ma inarrestabile, ha minato inesorabilmente la sopravvivenza del borgo, tanto da causarne un progressivo spopolamento e trasferimento dell’intero abitato nella vicina località di Peschiera. La condizione di marginalità geografica ed infrastrutturale e l’attuale stato decadente in cui versa il borgo, privato ormai della sua originaria vocazione e sottratto ad una costante manutenzione, ha determinato una radicale trasformazione dell’immagine della città. L’aspetto ruderale dell’intero insediamento, immerso nell’incontaminato paesaggio lunare lucano, ha finito per divenire la nota distintiva ed attrattiva per un sempre maggior numero di visitatori. A partire dal 2013 è stato istituito a Craco il Parco Scenografico dei ruderi che ha determinato la messa in sicurezza di una parte dei suoi edifici lungo uno studiato itinerario di visita. La natura geologica del sito in esame e il grave quadro fessurativo degli edifici rendono impensabile l’ipotesi di un completo recupero dell’insediamento. In vista di una valida proposta di conservazione e valorizzazione del borgo è stato intrapreso un iter conoscitivo, che sotto la regia del Restauro, ha affrontato lo studio del borgo, dalla scala territoriale a quella urbana ed edilizia, coinvolgendo le discipline del Rilievo, dei Caratteri Tipologici, della Geologia, della Tecnica delle Costruzioni, dell’Estimo e della Sociologia. Le molteplici indagini hanno permesso di ricostruire l’evoluzione storica del borgo con le sue rilevanze architettoniche distribuite lungo l’attuale percorso di visita e l’inaccessibile percorso di crinale, di comprenderne le tecniche costruttive, di rilevare lo stato di conservazione delle strutture e delle superfici e di individuare le reali risorse e opportunità del territorio. I risultati delle analisi svolte hanno permesso di formulare attuabili Linee-guida di intervento, ponderate tra due attuali antitetiche visioni: quella possibilista che ritiene praticabile la strada del recupero, almeno parziale, dell’abitato mediante nuove forme di antropizzazione, e quella fermamente più cauta che propende per la musealizzazione ai fini turisti. Gli esiti progettuali scaturiti consistono nella proposta di sistemazione idrogeologica e paesaggistica del versanti e di regimentazione delle acque piovane, nell’ampliamento e nella relativa messa in sicurezza dell’attuale percorso turistico, nel consolidamento e nella conservazione dei ruderi ai soli fini scenografici e nel restauro di un numero ridotto di edifici finalizzato al loro riuso per le attività di carattere artistico-culturale e di ricerca scientifica e didattica.

Craco, a Medieval Village. The “Re-inven on of Places” Throughout new Forms of Anthropiza on and Museum Display / de Cadilhac, R.; Catella, M. A.. - In: ARCHISTOR. - ISSN 2384-8898. - ELETTRONICO. - ArcHistoR EXTRA 7 (2019) - Supplemento di ArcHistoR 12/2019:(2020), pp. 1242-1242.

Craco, a Medieval Village. The “Re-inven on of Places” Throughout new Forms of Anthropiza on and Museum Display

de Cadilhac R.;Catella M. A.
2020-01-01

Abstract

In an age like the present one, marked by a growing sensitivity towards the issues of recovery and enhancement of minor historic centers, abandoned or in the process of depopulation, the case study of the medieval village of Craco is a pragmatic example of the settlements in Lucania affected by this phenomenon. Starting from 1963 a landslide, slow but unstoppable, undermined the survival of the village, so much to cause a progressive depopulation and transfer of all the inhabitants in the nearby village of Peschiera. A condition of geographic and infrastructural marginality together with the state of decay of the village, now deprived of its original vocation and constant maintenance, determined a radical transformation of the image of the village. The ruin aspect of the entire settlement, bathed in an unspoiled lunar landscape, has become the distinguishing and attractive note for an ever increasing number of visitors. Starting in 2013, the Scenographic Park of the ruins was established in Craco, which determined the securing of part of its buildings along a well-defined itinerary. However, the geological nature of the site together with the serious cracks of the buildings make the hypothesis of a complete recovery of the settlement unthinkable. Towards a valid proposal for conservation and enhancement of the village has been undertaken a cognitive process that, directed by Restoration, has tackled the study of the village, from the territorial to the urban and construction scale involving the disciplines of Surveying, Typological Characters of Architecture, Geology, Construction Technique, Estimates and Sociology. Several investigations have allowed to reconstruct the historical evolution of the village with its architectural relevance distributed along the visiting itinerary and the inaccessible ridge line, in order to understand its construction techniques, detect the state of conservation of the structures and surfaces and identify the real resources and opportunities of the territory. Results, obtained from the analyzes carried out, made it possible to formulate Guidelines, weighted between the two current antithetical visions: a positive one that considers practicable the recovery, at least partial, of the built environment through new forms of anthropization, and a more cautious one looking to a museum display for tourists. The design outcomes consist in: proposal of hydrogeological and landscape arrangement of slopes and rainwater regulation; enlargement and safety of the visiting itinerary; consolidation and preservation of the ruins only for scenographic purposes; restoration of a number of buildings aimed at their reuse for artistic, cultural, scientific and educational research activities.
2020
Craco, a Medieval Village. The “Re-inven on of Places” Throughout new Forms of Anthropiza on and Museum Display / de Cadilhac, R.; Catella, M. A.. - In: ARCHISTOR. - ISSN 2384-8898. - ELETTRONICO. - ArcHistoR EXTRA 7 (2019) - Supplemento di ArcHistoR 12/2019:(2020), pp. 1242-1242.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11589/201739
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