The Historic Urban Landscape. Narratives, Experiences, Objects and other Stuff

The earthquake that occurred in 2016-2017 hit a particularly fragile area of the Italian Central Apennines, which had already been affected for some years by a progressive process of depopulation. Maintenance of both the buildings and the infrastructure of the mountain areas and their foothills had been neglected and the effects of the earthquake put at further risk the conservation of a very valuable landscape, architectural and artistic heritage. The critical starting point for any new research and proposed interventions must be to understand the seismic nature of these areas as a constitutive, and not extraordinary phenomenon – a characteristic that has marked the history of the Apennine area, the evolution of its landscape, its townscape and its communities as well as its important buildings and monuments. ‘Living with earthquakes/Vivere coi terremoti’ is the title of a research project and summer school promoted by the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering and Architecture (DICEA) of the Polytechnic University of Marche in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and a broad international partnership. Inside the larger area affected, our study concentrates on the province of Fermo with its variety of small and medium-sized hill towns that offer a rich field of investigation and experimentation, starting from an analysis of the degree of damage to the urban fabric and branching out to wider questions of architectural and artistic heritage. The earthquake, despite its tragic nature, can also be seen as a unique opportunity to rewrite the history of these places, starting from citizens’ experience and the collective memory of local communities, and making full use of archival research material. The intangible and tangible values of these places are deep; the bond of the population with its land is equally deep and ancient. But the future is fraught with difficulties, since not everything can be rebuilt and revitalized. Our work aims to assist in the many important choices that will have to be made.