ABSTRACT

The earthquake, which struck the regions of Irpinia and Basilicata on 23 November 1980, was certainly one of the most destructive of the twentieth century in Italy, because of the high number of victims, the extent of damage and the vastness of the affected areas. As a consequence of the earthquake the damage to the buildings ranged from small fissures up to the total collapse of the structures. The methodological approach has been primarily oriented towards massive intervention types, reputed after many years ineffective and certainly invasive. It is clear that the earthquake in Irpinia renewed the same discussions raised for the second world war destruction. There was an intense national debate among all the heritage experts, but it was very difficult to apply any theory to such a destroyed reality, where the most important thing was to save human lives and everything that had survived the earthquake. The lack of a specific local restoration culture in addition to the disputable law 219/81 have caused even more damages. This paper aims to present the different methodological approaches performed for the Irpinia heritage, starting from historical analysis and photographic documentation of some areas taken as an example and reference. The aim is to contribute to the debate about the approach in case of natural disasters, which are frequent in such a delicate country like Italy.

Parole chiave/Key-words: earthquake, Irpinia, restoration, methodological approach