This paper proposes “silent heritage” as an interpretive framework for the adaptive reuse of historic architecture, focusing on the Carmine complex in Caltagirone, Sicily. Underused heritage is understood not as a mere absence of function, but as the outcome of urban processes such as demographic decline, the relocation of services, and the transformation of historic centres. The study reconsiders the relationship between conservation and reuse, identifying historical research and value recognition as foundations of the design process, in relation to material stratification and collective perception. “Silent heritage” is thus proposed as a critical category: a state of latent potential in which reuse operates as an hermeneutic project, activating spatial and cultural continuities.
University of Catania, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-6863-4144
University of Turin, Italy
University of Catania, Italy
Titolo del capitolo
Reframing Silent Heritage. Interpretative Approaches to the Reuse of the Carmine Complex in Caltagirone
Autori
Chiara Circo, Giuliana Galvagno, Gaia Melilli
Lingua
Inglese
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1113-0.90
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Anno di pubblicazione
2026
Copyright
© 2026 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Titolo del libro
ReUso 2026 - New heritage and future strategies. Perspectives on conservation and promotion
Sottotitolo del libro
14th International Congress Barcelona-Girona, 4-7 November
Curatori
Alessandro Scarnato, Marisa García Vergara, Ángeles Layuno Rosas
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Anno di pubblicazione
2026
Copyright
© 2026 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Editore
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1113-0
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-1113-0
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-1112-3
Collana
ReUso