A Manifesto for Re-inhabiting Inner Areas Twelve Starting Points to Imagine the Recovery, Re-use, and Re-activation of Buildings and Urban Spaces in the Appennino Basso Pesarese – Anconetano

This contribution presents the Manifesto for RESETtling APPenines, developed as part of a doctoral thesis, with the aim of using the knowledge acquired during the research and transfer it in a clear and replicable way to the territory, in order to promote sustainable interventions on the existing built heritage in the inner areas, which are the focus of the study. The Manifesto is intended as a starting (or re-starting) point—built on a solid transscalar and multidisciplinary exploratory path—that intertwines strategies and actions for territorial promotion, cultural heritage valorization, and transformation of the living space, for a resilient rebirth of the inner areas. Rather than serving as a regulatory document, it offers a flexible tool to support re-inhabiting these territories by proposing a completely new way of interpreting and reusing the existing heritage. Based on four main statements that emerged from the research, the Manifesto emphasizes the importance of architectural design in the processes of recovering and reusing abandoned or underused architectural spaces. It outlines, in twelve points, a set of guidelines or intervention strategies for reinhabiting fragile and marginal contexts—rich in historical heritage—like those of the inner areas, through the re-activation of what have been defined as “potential spaces.” In the Manifesto, adaptive reuse is not proposed as a mere response to a period of crisis, but as a responsible attitude and a design strategy through which to experiment with cultural, productive, social, and energy innovations. The document thus offers a framework for future projects capable of combining the historical memory of sites with the transformation required by regeneration, while fostering shared visions that address local needs and create lasting, vibrant communities.