Le facciate del quartiere di Piccapietra a Genova: tutela e valorizzazione di un patrimonio del secondo Novecento.

The Italian architecture of the second half of XX century has been studied by academics and administrations with more interest since the last decades. Nevertheless, these architectures often suffer of poor conservation condition, due to the difficult identifying this relatively young and wide production as heritage to be protected. In this already complex frame, the external surfaces of a building become one of the first objects to modify: element of connection and separation between outside and inside, witness of political, social or artistic message, the facade of a building is in fact one of the first element exposed to natural and anthropic deterioration forces. Therefore, this work focuses on the facades of Piccapietra, genoese district demolished and re-build between Fifties and Seventies. In fact, the functional obsolescence of the whole district and the specific deterioration of external surfaces, could - as already happened - justify future facades replacement or modification, thus compromising its historical and architectural value. Starting from a brief focus on Second half of XX Century architectures conservation problems, the article will focus on planning and construction of the modern Piccapietra, on material and technological characteristics of its external surfaces, in order to inaugurate a new path of knowledge and protection for this heritage.