Military architectural heritage. Possible solutions of integral conservation and new military use

From 2001 to 2016 there was a transition from Regions with “state properties and heritage” (art. 119 of the Constitution in 1947) to Regions or other territorial public administrations with “heritage assigned according to the general principles determined by the State law” (art. 119 modified in 2001). The transition from state-owned to publicly-owned assets was extremely significant and due to it, it is now possible to pass an artefact - belonging to the community to groups or single citizens. The Decree dated 2010, known as “state federalism”, was criticised by many people as “an extremely dangerous act”, because it favours the property transition from public to private in the long term. The “valuation” and approval by the MiBACT are the only limitations to the dismantlement of the state-owned historical and artistic heritage. In Liguria 2013, “state federalism” led to the transition of the state-owned military heritage. For example, this transition affected a number of Genoese fortifications realised by the Regno Sabaudo, which transformed and integrated the defence system designed by French engineers in the eighteenth century. In Genoa, these constructions, which can vary in their dimensions, are located in strategic points along the Mura Nuove, Genoa’s sixteenth-century defensive wall. In other areas, for example in La Spezia, the Maritime Military Arsenal still maintains its function, which is an indispensable resource for the area, even from an economic point of view. The present contribution compares the two profoundly different case studies of Torre Quezzi in Genoa and the M.Ar.Di.Chi former artillery deposit in La Spezia. Torre Quezzi is the only example of an intact circular tower which is isolated in Genoa’s mountains. Its assignment to the City Council led to the restoration project and study of the tower that had long been abandoned. The study revealed the fragility and complexity of this artefact. Due to the fact that it was not possible to assign different purposes to the this construction, the project aimed to give its complete fruition back to the citizens, without altering its volumes and spaces, while offering the possibility to understand and appreciate this tower as it was conceived at the time of its construction. Unfortunately, turning this “monument” into a museum is just a partial solution to requalify disused state-owned properties, leaving the problem of having to find a concrete possibility for a compatible reuse of military and paramilitary structures. This concept lies at the heart of the study of the Mardicchi former artillery deposit, which analyses whether the building could be reused for military purposes or not. The M.Ar.Di.Chi (Magazzino Artiglieria and Difesa Chimica) area connects the Arsenal and the city of La Spezia and its characteristics could make it eligible to be utilised as a “judiciary town”. This proposal was suggested by the Head of Military Engineering in order to maintain the military purpose of the buildings and deal with the lack of space in the current main offices of the Military Court. The aim of the proposal is the restoration and preservation of the functions of this interesting construction - built with a basilica plan - and its surrounding buildings.