Il “versante strutturale” del restauro. Principi teorici e prassi operative a Roma e nel Lazio nel secondo dopoguerra

In most of the consolidations conducted after World War II, there is a significant and generalized use of “mo- dern” solutions, such as metal principals and reinforced concrete structures, mainly concealed in the historic masonry or replacing traditional elements. The Venice Charter (1964) addresses the structural aspects of restoration by reiterating what had already been stated in the previous charters and by pointing out that the use of modern reinforcements is subject to two con- ditions: having ascertained the absolute ineffectiveness of traditional materials and having demonstrated the validity of the means and techniques to be used (Art. 10). Almost a century later and in the midst of an ever-open debate on the relationship between consolidation and re- sto-ration, the paper intends to reflect on the outcomes of some twentieth-century restorations conducted in the Roman and Latium contexts, often in antithesis to the same orientations of the time as well as questionable in ter- ms of re-spect for material authenticity, awareness of historical phases, but also of actual structural effectiveness.