Conoscenza e visitabilità: il progetto di restauro del campanile di Santa Maria delle Vigne a Genova

This paper outlines the main phases of the restoration project for the bell tower of Santa Maria delle Vigne in Genoa and its openness to guided tours. The request from the Parish to open the tower to visitors provided the design team with many opportunities to develop a thorough restoration project, but also many challenges. Firstly the bell tower was not a structure created to be visited and, therefore, the entire task started from a careful assessment of the feasibility of the request. Once the problematic nature and causes of material decay were detected, we studied the structural behavior and tried to address each conservation issue. Visitability was the aim of all actions in each phase and every technical device provided has ensured optimum use of the tower in safety and in compliance with the norm requirements. In order to develop the guided tour activity and to make the intervention recognizable, we decided to insert a continuous element, from the ground to the upper bells, in the bell tower. This may form the route of the visit with handrails or a railing on the stairs.