How Many Fragilities for How Many Architectures: The Taormina Stadium of P.L. Nervi

This study addresses a relevant topic for Italy: protecting 20th-century football stadiums. Italian art. 55bis of D.L. 76/2020, the “sblocca-stadi” amendment, allows sports facilities to be exempt from cultural asset protection protocols. Dealing with this type of heritage is complicated. Sports stadiums are especially vulnerable to Modern architecture’s fragility. Their fragility makes integrating them into cultural heritage difficult because their constant need for regulatory and performance changes conflicts with the building’s history. Functional adaptation and conservation require communicating these architectural structures’ cultural, technical, and scientific significance. This is essential to create interventions that balance architectural innovation and heritage preservation. The analysis focuses on three football stadiums in Italy that were designed and constructed by Pier Luigi Nervi during the 1950s and 1960s. These architectures embody the essence of Italian architectural culture and are distinguished by the unique “Nervi style”. However, each structure also possesses distinct characteristics influenced by the context in which it was constructed. The study centres on the Taormina stadium, by conducting research in the archives and carrying out field investigations, we have identified the distinctive features of this architecture and assessed its current state of conservation. This has revealed additional vulnerabilities that are specific to the case study. Intervening in the conservation project requires a thorough understanding of the asset and the reconstruction of its history, which serves as a valuable tool. The scientific community in this sector plays a crucial role by possessing a wide range of skills that can collectively contribute to safeguarding these heritages.