Archeologia dell’architettura e diagnosi del dissesto per una conoscenza integrata: il caso del Castello Doria-Malaspina di Calice al Cornoviglio (SP)

The paper presents some observations on the role of collaboration between different disciplines in the project of knowledge and conservation of historic buildings. In particular, it analyzes the collaboration between architectural archaeologists and structural engineers in the case study of the castle of Calice al Cornoviglio (SP). The castle, whose first construction dates back to the Middle Ages, is now the result of a complex history of modifications, reconstructions and consolidations, the result of functional choices and structural damages of different kinds. The close collaboration between specialists showed how both disciplines can benefit from dialogue. Structural engineers because, thanks to valuable information about the history of the building and the construction techniques by which it was built, they can define more reliable structural models of the construction. Archaeologists because, thanks to the questions posed by structural engineers, they can extend the scope of their knowledge to unimagined aspects, and they can find "structural" answers to some aspects of the construction. But the greatest profit comes from the construction itself, which benefits from an integrated and more informed analysis. Three themes are addressed in the article: the role of historical knowledge in the service of structural understanding; the question of vocabulary and the importance of finding words to communicate; and the question of design and the benefits it derives from dialogue between the parties.