The Reconversion of Italian fortress through the use of modern tools

The Italian historic architectural heritage includes a special and widespread category of buildings: the fortresses. Fortresses characterized for centuries the image of many Italian towns and landscapes and their presence modelled their urban or rural settings. Today these military buildings have lost their original function and very often create difficulties in current urban policies, in consideration of their dimensions, their collocation and the high costs for their preservation. As consequence, they are often in critical conditions of conservation and they have been frequently transformed in empty spaces disconnected from the current city life. The better way to protect these huge architectures consists in a long-term planning of sustainable reuse. Obviously these structures cannot be used to fulfill their original military functions and their peculiar architectural features clash sometimes with actual needs. It is necessary to study each structure according to its environmental, social and cultural contest to facilitate its best reconversion. The use of multimedia instruments suggests a method to reach satisfactory results but also it engenders some questions and doubts. The goal of this paper is to analyze the problem of fortresses today and to explain some meaningful cases of reuse in central Italy. Particular attention will be paid to the fortress of Verrucole near Lucca. This is an emblematic case study both for the choices of restoration and new display and for the difficulty to select new functions.