Sustainable Initiatives of Industrial Archaeology Conservation and Reuse: The Case-Study of the St Paul’s Storage in Rome

The aim of this work is the economic-financial evaluation of a restoration and functionalization project on the former “St Paul’s storage”, an example of industrial archaeology in Rome. The term “industrial archaeology” denotes an interdisciplinary approach to studying past industrial sites, specifically in relation to their impact on the territory or with a view to their possible preservation. Industrial sites often consist of buildings lacking particular aesthetic qualities, designed solely to meet production needs. Consequently, they are rarely undergoing historical-artistic protection constraints by local Superintendencies, and their existence is jeopardized by urban regeneration processes. The “voids” left by the decommissioning of factories are frequently situated in strategic locations within cities. These areas become attractive for economic stakeholders involved in transformations, including administrations and businesses. However, repurposing the buildings, once designated for production, presents challenging issues, ranging from land pollution to high management costs, due to their considerable size. The ensuing study aims to demonstrate the economic sustainability of these actions on industrial archaeology, aligning with the needs and requests of the population and in perspective to become potential strategy-nodes of the sustainable development.