La valorizzazione dell’architettura medievale nella Valle del Medio Volturno. Il caso dell’abbandonato castello di Rupecanina

The castle of Rupecanina is located on the top of a hill, about 500 m above sea level, in a dominant position within the Middle Volturno Valley, 50 km from Caserta. An intense and tumultuous evolution, between the IX-XIV centuries, followed an early abandonment of the site, during the 15th century. The «Village déserté» (Klapisch Zuber, 1973) partially destroyed during the Second World War, has been, since the 1960s, the subject of several reconstruction and restoration interventions as well as several archaeological excavation campaigns, numerous reflections and researches. In spite of that, always closed to the public and abandoned to himself, the castle remains forgotten to the most and it lies in conditions of advanced degradation. The aim of this report is to reflect on the theme of conservation using knowledgeable data in order to draw up a practical suggestion for the conservation of our heritage, which, especially in the case of the Castle of Rupecanina, shows the urgent need of a restoration project based on compatible and respectful use of an artefact that otherwise remains doomed to ruin.