Can architecture identify a second life for dismissed quarries? Opportunities and challenges for extraction sites in Lessinia and Valpolicella, Verona, Italy

This paper engages architectural disciplines to explore possible development paths for abandoned extraction sites. With the growing importance attributed to the circular economy, dismissed quarries embody significant opportunities to compensate for the past exploitation of natural resources and, possibly, strengthen environmental equilibriums and local sociocultural distinctiveness. The example of the Lessinia quarries near Verona is assumed as the research case, with a method based on two key points. First, several site visits were carried out, fielding a participant observation approach. Secondly, remarkable architectural experiences were selected from the contemporary design culture to identify possible strategies to rehabilitate dismissed excavated sites. The results suggest the Lessinia quarries are paradigmatic of how the pursuit of sustainability passes through a process of attribution of meanings before the physical transformation of sites. The paper concludes by discussing and comparing these scenarios of development with the current legal framework, according to which exhausted quarries should be re-naturalized regardless of the inherent potential they expose at the date.