Verification of re-use compatibility: the case of the Church of San Salvatore in Ortigia

The method of verification of re-use compatibility proposed has a double objective: to guarantee the conservation of the identity of the building, while preserving its configurative and material qualities; and to satisfy the requirements presented by its new use. The case study selected is the Church of San Salvatore on the island of Ortigia, which is the historical centre of the Sicilian city of Syracuse. Such a building has been profoundly changed by the variations in its use allocations undergone over the course of time. Following the use variation, the building underwent important structural modifications. This research was identified specific verification procedures of re-use compatibility, with the objective of checking that the transformations required by the variation in the use allotment are compatible with the constraints imposed by the existing building system and with the performances that the system provides. In particular, the use of new technologies is directed towards ensuring the conservation of the values expressed by the original form of the building and by its successive transformations and, at the same time, in order to guarantee the reversibility of the interventions required by the new use.