Ancient constructive devices and new techniques : the structural improvement of existing buildings between memory and projects

This paper tries to compare the results of some different researches and experiences of intervention for the preservation and structural improvement of ancient buildings. The study involved both an urban and a rural constructive context, whose peculiarities determined the different features and peculiarities of the single buildings that were examined, both from a geometrical and constructive point o view. But also some common problems were pointed at, first of all the physical decay of metal connections and the loss of structural reliability as a consequence leading to the intervention. The most interesting aspect was the fact that traditional interventions reveal an attitude toward the reinforcement of existing structures rather than their complete replacement. This fact introduces the topic of structural strengthening by adding modern devices, as a support of the existing ones, rather than by simply replacing them, nor even altering their way of working. A preservative principle that perhaps let restoration meet sustainability.