Conoscenza e conservazione del patrimonio architettonico rurale della Valchiusella e di Rueglio (Piemonte). Lo studio dell’abitato storico e il recupero di Ka’ D-Mezanis

Restoration work on a stately home (Ka’ D-Mezanis) in Rueglio, a settlement in the Valchiusella area between Ivrea and the southern part of the Valle d’Aosta, prompted a research project on rural and mountain architecture conducted in recent years by a research group from the Politecnico di Torino, under the scientific direction of Silvia Beltramo. The restoration works on Ka’ D-Mezanis were completed in 2018 and were carried out by applying a careful and conservative approach that made it possible to recover the constructive and decorative elements of the house. The works also offered the chance to reflect on the cultural heritage of the area, for both the local community and the public administration. It became clear that there was a need for an in-depth study of the historical tissue of the settlement, in order to appraise the feasibility of undertaking careful and sustainable renovation, in the light of the available economic resources and the architecture that was preserved. The research project covered the following main topics: a critical analysis of the building techniques and materials used at Ka’ D-Mezanis, to constitute a reference case study; a detailed survey of the masonry through stratigraphic analysis of the architecture; a study of other buildings with similar constructive and formal solutions in the territory of Valchiusella; and cataloguing of the historical urban landscape of the municipality of Rueglio by investigating functions and construction techniques with the definition of an abacus of masonry. The results of the ongoing research are presented to the scientific community as a starting point for shared reflections that can direct further development of the study and open up international collaborations.