Cultural Heritage and earthquakes: a multidisciplinary approach to restoration sites

This paper looks at a multidisciplinary approach to the restoration of sites hit by earthquakes, and illustrates how an integrated approach can successfully combine technical requirements with historical and cultural ones. The methodology presented in this study concerns the “Castello di Fossa” restoration project in central Italy, which was hit by an earthquake in 2009. Cooperation between the two teams working on the project led to the development of new ideas and the definition of an innovative role for the castle within the urban and rural landscape. The project looked at how to improve energetic and structural performance through the retrofitting of the building, whilst at the same time guaranteeing the conservation of its architectural values. Lastly, the results of this joint work undertaken by archaeologists, researchers from the National Research Centre (CNR ITC, L’Aquila) and the University of L’Aquila (DICEAA) and designers, are presented as well as the coherence of the reconstruction.