Ricerca di qualità e pratiche senza qualità. La perdita delle decorazioni cementizie dell’architettura triestina del Primo Novecento

The research outlines the theme of the spread of cementitious decoration techniques in the city of Trieste, with the aim of understanding the phenomenon during its greatest diffusion and experimentation (1900-1915). More in detail, the study questions the process of irreparable loss of these surfaces due to inadequate interventions, facilitated by the recent regulations on tax relief (bonus facciate). Beginning from the definition of a buildings listing, necessary to testify to the current state of conservation of the city’s main Art Nouveau works, the survey became an opportunity to learn about the operating practices of the numerous building sites that populated the historic centre in recent years, carrying out interventions that are not always in keeping with the value of the heritage to which they are applied. The loss of artificial stone surfaces brings us face to face with the theme of inadequate – or non-existent – reading of the architectural text, despite the presence of notable decorative techniques symbolising a period of experimentation with new 20th-century materials, often not understood by those intervening on these buildings. In order to resolve this issue and to aim for a quality-project, it is necessary to schedule the implementation of a careful knowledge process, in order to define appropriate intervention strategies. The conservation of architecture cannot be solved solely through a set of technical operations – although the technical component can be a first key to comparison – but must also be the expression of an accurate cultural project.