Requalification of the historical fabric of Alberobello

The topic which is here introduced is the result of a study carried out within the Thesis Laboratory promoted by the Dicar Department of Politecnico di Bari. It deals with the formation and recovery/ requalification of a part of the historical town of Alberobello. The study of the phases that have determined the current arrangement of the city was conducted through the survey at different scales: the settlement-urban one, the aggregative one and finally the building one referred to the type of trullo. It represents the “concept of home” consolidated over time and it has generated numerous variants that return a significant patrimony of cases that have been arranged in a general synoptic framework, as a proof of the synchronic and diachronic changes that have occurred over time. In general, it can be seen that the masonry has sometimes undergone interventions that have altered the original configuration, and, in some cases, the elementary units have been demolished and replaced by modern buildings in contrast with the context, even altering the structure of the settlement system. The research has particularly covered the neighborhood surrounding the Basilica of SS. Medici. An area that, despite the importance documented by archival sources, did not fall within the UNESCO perimeter of 1996, exclusively reserved for the Rione Monti and Aia Piccola. This lack of attention, concomitantly with the absence of an instrument of protection, has made possible numerous transformations, thus preventing the legibility of its characters, that often appear to be completely compromised. The recovery of this heritage can be guaranteed by an adequate policy, based on a detailed plan that includes interventions aimed at the valorization, conservation and requalification of the historical areas constituted by aggregative systems defined by the monad of the trullo. To this end, the laboratory activities have been focusing on the reconstruction of the settlement process and on the examination of the architectural types which are present in the area under study, and that have been useful to outline a series of guidelines for the recovery of the neighborhood and its building. The didactic experimentation has also focused on an entire front of buildings where a building of a recent construction can be seen: having replaced the previous basic units, it appears to be inconsistent with the organic unit of previous fabric. The hypotheses of intervention include, as it is usual in the recovery of the historical heritage, restoration and conservative rehabilitation, but also renovation of the buildings which are in contrast with the whole to be protected. The letter category was applied to the recent building and, as per legislation, the initiation of a procedure for the delocalization of volumes has been arranged, making use of instrument of urban compensation.