Conservation and restoration in the post-seismic Reconstruction Plan of Fossa. Architectural features and external finishes of the historical centre

This paper, which is accompanied by that of Carocci & Petrella, describes the methodology used for the drawing of the Reconstruction Plan of Fossa, one of the several old towns damaged by the 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila. The basic effort of the Reconstruction plan and its integrated approach was to respect the quality of the urban fabric, the valuable architectural features and the significant landscape value of the settlement, which is placed on the sinkhole of Monte Circolo. A specific study considered the urban and architectural features and the external finishes of the historical centre. The study implied the systematic cataloguing of the architectural elements, the analysis of the main issues deriving from incongruous transformations and the seismic vulnerability assessment. A diagnostic campaign on the plasters and colours of the local building tradition accompanied the preliminary research. Based on these analyses, the Reconstruction Plan provided guidelines for the conservation of the buildings’ external finishes.