The "Convicinio" of St. Andrew Armenians in Taranto: a common good relationship, as well as cultural

Abstract

The housing and usability of historical and artistic buildings and places of worship in the old city of Taranto appear, today, as absolutely essentials for the design path of urban spaces and participatory management of public areas for environmental recovery of the whole territory. The aim of this work is to map out the experimentation of new forms of re-appropriation of urban spaces through the protection, enhancement and participatory management of the sites and the cultural heritage represented by religious buildings, starting with the case study of the church of St. Andrea Armenians (1573). The “convicinio” of the St. Andrew Armenians appears, therefore, as a relational good, as well as cultural. It is, inevitably, a place woven with the people who inhabit it: a community space to be transformed into a real competitive advantage to increase the tourist attractiveness of the area in which the property insists, strengthen social cohesion, improve the quality of residents’s life and support the establishment of micro processes of local socio-economic development.

Keywords

• Domus Armenorum
• Taranto
• Gestione partecipata
• Rigenerazione urbana
• Sviluppo sostenibile