Les processus d’abandon et de resignification des lieux après le tremblement de terre: deux études de cas siciliennes en comparaison

The reconstruction processes consequential to the Belìce earthquake in the Seventies have generated phenomena of abandonment that interrupted the connection between places and communities. After fifty years from the earthquake, these processes are still unresolved and therefore question the principle of cultural responsibility towards the past and the cultural heritage. The persistent condition of abandonment of the survived historic centers has safeguarded the integrity of their heritage. Nonetheless, it denounces the inertia of the institutions in promoting actions of preservation and enhancement. As a result, we observe bottom-up resignification processes lead by cultural associations via episodic initiatives of valorization. In most of the cases, these initiatives fail as they are not systematic. The contribution is therefore intended to analyze two Sicilian case studies affected by the earthquake in 1968. From one side, the two examples were subjected to a different approach in the relocation process, where the abandonment of historical centers was a planned necessity. From the other, the abandon is now the result of a conscious choice that has favored hybridization between the old settlements and the new ones. Moreover, those hybrid processes result in a partial resignification of places. To conclude, the comparison of these Sicilian examples highlights the need to overcome the condition of abandonment through strategies and policies capable of triggering processes of valorization and resignification by leveraging the recognition of cultural values and memory.