Restoring the Identity of Arquata del Tronto

Architectural Design Studio

Politecnico di Milano 2020/2021 Architecture |Built Environment| Interiors

Professors: Alisia Tognon, Angelo Giuseppe Landi

Team: Kruti Patel, Alina Akinfieva, Sergey Levchenko

Arquata del Tronto is a historic town in the

Marche Region, situated between two national natural parks, area of exceptional beauty. The village is known for its fortress, overlooking the village, dating back to the middle ages.

In 2016 a series of earthquakes caused serious damage to the village, leaving it devastated. A great part of the village is in ruins. The population is dislocated. Some are transferred to new, but temporary housing. The residents that were already experiencing demographic and economic decline faced a great challenge after the tragic events.

The project focuses on strategically revitalizing the village as a whole, as well as on key parts of it of major importance: the stronghold and the lower historic residential part of the village. A series of gardens and botanical rooms were infilled in the ruins of the town to recreate respectfully the identity of Arquata del Tronto.

Arquata del Tronto before the seismic events in 2016

Arquata del Tronto after the seismic events in 2016

A major part of the village is completely ruined to the ground. Many houses are ledt with collapsed roofs or significant structural demages. The ruins and the street contours are reminding of the image of the village before the terrific events.

The idea is to restore and reconstruct the buildings that are sound. To use the contours of the previously existingstreets and recreate the former buildings by representing their form, but with a new purpose. Instead of creating a replica of Arquata del Tronto before the earthquake, the idea is to create and reinvent the memory of it and bring nature where the previous historic buildings have been destroyed. Now the collapsed parts of the village are turned into beautiful gardens reminiscing Arquata del Tronto.