Antifragile strategies for abandoned heritage: New approaches and a dialogue between humanism and technique

The essay analyses antifragile approaches for preserving architectural heritage in marginal areas, with specific reference to Italy. The theoretical premise, taken from the philosophical and medical fields, is that fragility is a peculiarity of architectures and settlements. It is not a pathological condition but a characteristic that enhances their significance. As suggested by psychiatrists, fragility forces one to leave the comforting everyday life, where one tends to crystallize reality, convinced of having to face uncertainty. In this perspective, the essay does not analyze anti-fragility related to material aspects – contrasting the physical decay of historical architectures and settings – or environmental and climatic risks. With the help of some experiences from other disciplines, the intention is to analyze if and how it is possible to activate antifragile heritage-based practices – which are based on cultural processes that should never to be confused with a generic and ineffective enhancement of built heritage – mainly acting on the relationship between man and his environment. It is undeniable that the crisis of this complex relationship is the main reason for the lack of care and the subsequent abandonment of architectural heritage. It is likewise clear that the crisis also implies the loss of memories and meanings which have been stratified over time on this heritage. The study also considers the feasibility of some new approaches developed in disciplines other than architectural heritage preservation, a practice based on a cultural process.