The natural monument as an interpretative key for the memory of the villages affected by the seism: project experiences on Pescara del Tronto

The contribution aims to investigate the strategies of transformation for villages damaged by high intensity seismic events, which determine the impossibility of pursuing the road to the reconstruction of the damaged building heritage. This eventuality affects the fraction of Pescara del Tronto, almost completely destroyed by the earthquake of 2016, which was recently the object of a design experience conducted by the architecture collective Iosa, of which the authors are members. The project, developed for the competition of ideas published by the International Inner Wheel Italia Association and the Professional Association of Architects, Planners, Landscapers and Conservatories of the Province of Ascoli Piceno, was used as a research tool on the theme of the return of the urban memory for the destroyed village. The approach aims at recovering the urban structure of the villages, maintaining the tracks of the ancient blocks and reconstructing the routes, and transforming it into a new element of the landscape, building a large natural monument. The design idea consists of a light intervention that integrates the trace of the urban fabric, consisting of low fences, with pieces of native vegetation.