Communities’ Involvement for the Reuse of Historical Buildings. Experiences in Italian Marginal Areas

Throughout the Covid-19 emergency phase in Italy, interesting practices of reuse of architectural heritage were fostered by the community impulse in small, depopulated towns in inner areas. This unprecedented situation led small communities of remote areas to find urgent solutions to entirely new problems. Some contexts activated initiatives for enhancing the health and social services, some others for strengthening the home care, others for readjusting existing spaces according to new needs. Through the case of the reuse of the Convento dei Padri Riformati into a hospital in Madonie and other similar initiatives promoted in other Italian inner areas, this contribution aims at highlighting the potentialities connected to the creation of services for the community by reusing the existing built heritage. In the experiences this contribution wants to illustrate, the role of “local community” was revealed to be essential during the pandemic since every practice of reuse is conceived, realized, or managed through the participation of the community and mainly destined to it. Concurrently, the objective is to introduce some reflections on the importance of the functions and uses introduced and their impacts on the territory: many times, the architectural heritage is intended for tourism-related facilities. However, in some cases, other functions connected to public services can profitably preserve and relaunch historical buildings, thanks to constant use and maintenance, assuring at the same time a broader involvement of the community at all levels.