NEW METHODOLOGIES FOR THE DOCUMENTATION OF FORTIFIED ARCHITECTURE IN THE STATE OF RUINS

Abstract

Fortresses and castles are important symbols of social and cultural identity providing tangible evidence of cultural unity in Europe. They are items for which it is always difficult to outline a credible prospect of reuse, their old raison d'être- namely the military, political and economic purposes for which they were built- having been lost. In recent years a Research Unit of the University of Bologna composed of architects from different disciplines has conducted a series of studies on fortified heritage in the Emilia Romagna region (and not only) often characterized by buildings in ruins. The purpose of this study is mainly to document a legacy, which has already been studied in depth by historians, and previously lacked reliable architectural surveys for the definition of a credible as well as sustainable conservation project. Our contribution will focus on different techniques and methods used for the survey of these architectures, the characteristics of which- in the past- have made an effective survey of these buildings difficult, if not impossible. The survey of a ruin requires, much more than the evaluation of an intact building, reading skills and an interpretation of architectural spaces to better manage the stages of documentation and data processing. Through a series of case studies of fortified buildings in ruins, we intend to describe the reasons that guided the choice of the methods and tools used and to highlight the potentials and the limits of these choices in financial terms.