7th ISUFitaly International Conference | Naples, 19-21 February 2026 - City Renewal and urban archaelogy. The morphological values of city traces

The proposed study focuses on the reconstruction of Pátio Dom Fradique, located in the central area of Lisbon’s former walled city. The design outcome fits within the dialectical-critical framework of contemporary interventions in historic fabrics and results from research carried out as part of a master’s thesis at the ArCoD Department of the Polytechnic University of Bari. The initial study of historic Lisbon, aimed at identifying the settlement’s formative phases, revealed the critical void represented by the Pátio within the consolidated city. The area consists of the remains of workers’ dwellings adjacent to the Palácio dos Condes de Belmonte (a 15th-century residential complex), now limited to standing walls without floors due to repeated collapses from seismic events. The analysis of the existing fabric, conducted through the typological–processual method, guided design choices toward recovering the pre-existing structures and re-establishing continuity with the surrounding context. The proposal recomposes the original building organism and transforms it into a new structure with a special function, housing a museum. The design intention is to restore meaning and vitality to this urban fragment, preserving the legibility of the existing structures and interpreting the new building through a modern rather than historicist lens. Given the site’s irregular topography, special attention was paid to interior and exterior circulation paths. The adoption of a steel frame independent of the existing masonry recalls the “Pombaline” construction system developed after the 18th-century earthquake, ensuring a contemporary organism that dialogues with the ancient without imitation. An important matter presented for public discussion during the conference.