Chiese storiche tra oblio e manomissioni. Il caso della chiesa di Santa Maria della Palma a Catania

The European historical centers are dotted with an essential but not valued architectural heritage of little known or disused churches, often at risk, forgotten and reduced to “fragments” by the intensive urbanization. These represent a historical artistic document containing the “micro-histories” that have built a sense of identity and belonging now lost. The uncontrolled tampering and reuse that are incompatible with the conservation values deactivate the link between past and present, expose these buildings to vulnerability and oblivion risk, confuse the reading keys of the time signs on the materials. Reviewing some cases of these ecclesiastical architectures reduced to ruins or abandoned in Europe, the research focuses on an emblematic and small church in Sicily that has been repeatedly affected by tampering. Due to these alterations, it is a residual fragment of a forgotten historical page. Through the anamnesis on the building, we have proposed a possible restoration design, carefully pondering specific choices of “liberation”, to restore the proper readability of the architectural characters and reactivate the link between past and present that can perpetuate the historical value and the identity of the place.