Participatory approach for the enhancement of architectural archives funds: the experience at Museo della Rappresentazione in Catania

This paper describes the results of a participatory approach experienced during the training of university and high school students at the MuRa (Museo della Rappresentazione). Mura is a university museum belonging to the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture at University of Catania. It houses and exhibits the collections of architectural projects of Francesco Fichera and a series of chalcographies including the collection of the renown engraver Giovan Battista Piranesi. The training program has been addressed at the documentation, visualization and communication of the architectures realized by Francesco Fichera and other Sicilian architects in the city centre of Catania in the first half of XXth century, whose projects are hosted by the museum. The methodology adopted has included the experimentation of participatory strategies aimed at the communication and the narration of the architectures built in the early twentieth century in Catania. After a preliminary training phase on digital tools for 3D documentation and enhancement of architectural heritage, the students were invited to participate with their ideas and creative expressions in the dissemination actions of the identified case studies.