Renovation of an UNESCO heritage settlement in southern Italy: ASHP and BIPV for a “Spread Hotel” project

Many small historical settlements in Mediterranean areas have a great value in terms of architectural and cultural heritage. Therefore it happens that the socio–economic situation of many of these settlements is backward and depressed. A succesful way to develop these important environments is to implement tourism, a profitable and available economical resource. “Spread Hotel” or “Diffuse Hotel” or “Albergo Diffuso” is an innovative concept which aims to renovate decayed buildings situated in historical locations. New economical inputs are needed to revitalize these settlements and their social tissue. “Diffuse Hotel” concept is very diffused in Italy due to its rich historical heritage. The present paper displays a renovation project of a rural historical settlement into a “Spread Hotel”. The site under analysis is located in Palazzolo Acreide, Sicily, Italy. The settlement strongly needed to be refurbished in order to provide habitability and to guarantee a proper level of comfort according to italian standards. The area is also listed in the UNESCO Heritage. The “Diffuse Hotel” at a national level is considered as an affordable and comfortable concept that enables the travellers to experiance Italy through a tipical, historical and comfortable hotel. The historical built enviroment preservation is strategic in Italy and can strongly support economical revitalization. European Community supports the development of “Spread Hotels” projects in order to improve economical capacity of depressed areas by financing refurbishment programs. In this contest the authors present how “Palazzolo Acreide” renovation project was done. In particular, the design strategy was to respect the local characteristics, improve thermal performance and HVAC systems and exploting the on site renewable energy. In fact, in the Mediterranean areas solar radiation is a incredible resource to provide energy to the buildings.