La ricerca nel restauro dell’architettura fortificata italiana. Piero Gazzola: ruolo-significato-attualità

Any reflection on the restoration of Italian fortifications would not be possible without analysing the work of Piero Gazzola, who wrote an essential chapter in its history. The issue of castle conservation took on new meaning and a new approach from the second half of the last century on. From within an intense historical context, Gazzola drew the attention of the cultural milieu back to the very delicate matter of defence buildings, which had sunk into oblivion long before: he cast light on the conditions of their remains, began to raise awareness of castles and initiated a systematic and scientifically-sound approach to conservation-related issues. Through the critical reading of this author’s writings and of existing publications, this study focuses on the impact that the development of this new approach – in which Gazzola played a key role – had on this particular category of ancient buildings in the second half of the twentieth century. What emerges is a new scenario in the field of castle conservation. This paper explores the role, the significance and, last but not least, the topicality of Piero Gazzola’s contribution to the protection of fortified heritage, and provides the first results of a more far-reaching, ongoing study that is being carried out as part of the University of Bologna’s PhD in Architecture, whose aim is to verify their validity and vitality compared to the main theoretical and operational issues regarding the restoration of former defence buildings.