From Structural Diagnosis to a Public Plan of Valorisation: The Ancient Village of Vogogna (Val D’Ossola, Italy)

Vogogna is a small village in the heart of Val d’Ossola, dating back to medi-eval times. It has been very important in the past as a commercial and admin-istrative center for the entire valley. Like many other towns and villages locat-ed in mountainous areas in Italy, it has shown a clear trend in the last few decades, characterized by depopulation and economic impoverishment. Its monuments, however, still testify to its past importance. The Praetorium Palace and Villa Biraghi are the seats of the municipality and the administra-tion of the Val Grande Natural Park: they are experienced by people every day, both inhabitants and tourists. The local administration has signed an agreement with the School of Archi-tecture of Politecnico di Milano, requiring the development of a conservation and valorization plan for some historical buildings. Structural investigations on Villa Biraghi and Praetorium Palace have been carried out. Starting from the acquisition of data about structures and building technologies, a valoriza-tion strategy has been developed by the public administration, aiming to en-hance the importance of these buildings and their surroundings (i.e., gar-dens), both for inhabitants and tourists, whose presence in this rural area has been increasing year after year. In this paper, the survey procedure and diagnostic plan will be reported and commented on, their connections will be explained, and the results of the lo-cal administration programs for Villa Biraghi and the Praetorium Palace, as well as for other historical buildings, will be described.