Small historical towns between conservation and revitalization. The case of Locorotondo

In the architectural context, there is an increasing need to develop project strategies to protect and revitalize the villages that characterize the Italian territory, now at risk of survival, preserving their material and immaterial values. Locorotondo, one of the most important settlements in the Valle d’Itria in Puglia, represents a particularly significant case study, since it is unique, and yet with general problems. It is an urban organism with a strong identity, expressed in the close relationship between rural landscape, orography, urban morphology, types of buildings and construction techniques. This raises delicate problems of protection, recovery and reuse compatible with its characters. The paper illustrates an experience conducted in a Master Degree Workshop at the Politecnico di Bari. Guidelines have been formulated for a recovery plan at the various scales, for the purposes of conservation and enhancement of the old core, based on a careful reading of the context and the existing building heritage. Then, on the basis of the guidelines, a pilot project was developed for the recovery of an area located on the edge of the original urban settlement, framing it in a system of overall enhancement of public spaces and of the itineraries for the fruition of the old town center. Finally, the focus was on the problems of some marginal areas, with the aim of recovering the relationship between the historical center, the residential expansions and the diffuse built heritage.