Preservation and Design of the Existing Heritage. Comparison and Interpretation of Some Women’s Experiences in Italy after the Second World War

Abstract

The contribute illustrates the results of a research on seven women architects, active during the second half of the twentieth century: Margherita Asso, Lina Bo Bardi, Cini Boeri, Graziana Del Guercio Barbato, Liliana Grassi, Franca Helg and Egle Renata Trincanato that, due to their deep inclination to architecture and to the protection of the existing heritage, have significantly contributed to the national and international post-war debate on restoration through their methodologies and projects. This study, supported by an extensive bibliographical investigation, is based on an accurate archival research useful to understand their position on the pre-existences: selected case studies show how the seven women operated in total coherence with the national debate, often anticipating new theoretical principles or rising new practical questions. In details, a summary of the relevant aspects shows their operative thinking allowing a critical reading through the study of some of their significant projects, validating their theoretical-conceptual principles. Therefore, the aim is to outline a more comprehensive panorama of the Theory of Restoration, focusing the attention on the influence offered by these female protagonists, on topics such as the protection of the historical landscape, the development of the urban restoration, the social dimension of the regeneration and the dialectic between old and new in the project on existing buildings.