Public Housing in the Sassi of Matera: analysis of the case study of Comparto “E”

Abstract

The Historic Center of Matera was declared as Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1993, due to its representativeness as a settlement of the Mediterranean region and due the unique symbiosis between its natural and cultural characteristics. Since then, the Sassi have had an intense economic, cultural and especially touristic development; nowadays, most of the recovered properties are operating for tourism purposes. Following the eviction of Sassi inhabitants in 1950, the historic area has remained almost uninhabited despite the various strategies promoted by the government to promote occupation. One of them, the law 179/92 on the “Public Residential Building”, designated areas in disuse of the Historical Center to implement housing projects. In this line, the present work focuses on the analysis, development and evaluation of the architectural project for the Comparto “E”; developed in 1996 within the framework of the aforementioned law. The work aims to determine the main shortcomings, benefits and challenges of this initiative of occupation of the Sassi of Matera, as well as enrich the project with alternatives and strategies that can promote its execution.