After the earthquake. Design processes for intervention on vernacular heritage in Central Italy

Every day, in Italy, an average of 45 seismic events is recorded (INGV 2020 data) and their impact on the built environment is intense and continuous. The most notable cases are only the tip of a widespread and systematic iceberg, especially in the Central Apennines Mountain range. The opportunity to operate on ancient and disrupted buildings, to observe materially mural stratigraphies, to interpret disconnected or hinted geometries represents the field of action of know-how that fluctuates between technological specialism and the transmission of ancient tacit knowledge, which is more evident in the vernacular heritage. Concepts like conservation, restoration and reconstruction have become crucial in the deep debate and rule formulation, in the context of the “Extraordinary Commissariat for Earthquake Reconstruction 2016”. The contribution intends to investigate and describe the main features of these design procedures, focusing on the results, the perspective, dynamics, and objectives through which the reconstruction is taking place. More in detail, the paper suggests two case studies to examine the application of these ongoing procedures in relation to the enhancement and conservation of vernacular heritage in the Marche region. The two case studies are the village of Gabbiano (a small rural fabric close to Pieve Torina, Macerata) and the Shrine of Macereto (a monumental, isolated complex in Visso, Macerata). The differences in size, type and original use between the case studies offers the opportunity to compare two different interventions for either a complete reconstruction or a conservative restoration. The scope of the study is to explore the “rules of reconstruction” - applied to vernacular heritage sites - by observing how the projects and the proposed techniques represent an interpretation of the national legal framework built around the post-earthquake territories.