Sustainable re-use, preservation and modern management of historical ruins. RUINS’ tools & guidelines

Abstract

Owners and managers of the thousands of medieval ruins around Europe face the challenge of preservation despite limited options for modern use of their sites. The RUINS project develops approaches that help managers to find contemporary, social uses for old ruins while keeping historical heritage intact. Research and evaluation of various sites will create a basis for comprehensive management plans.
 A lack of functionality of medieval ruins leaves limited opportunities for establishing a viable economic future of these sites. Giving new functions to ruins can result in broad, economically profitable ways of using the medieval ruins.
 The aim is finding the balance between the needs of stakeholders and public expectations concerning use of medieval ruins on one hand, and on the other hand preservation of authenticity and historical value of medieval ruins.
 The individuation of the new function requires a specific knowledge of the building in all its aspects, but also considerations regarding socio-economic values of the context that identifies its historical meaning and artistic value. The approach is to find new aims to monuments, but in harmony with the characteristics that give value and meaning to them.
 Within the INTERREG Central Europe project RUINS, is developing an handbook that supplies an operational tool useful to guide owners and managers of the thousands of medieval ruins around Europe toward a stainable re-use, preservation and modern management of historical ruins.
 The work follows an outline composed by 5 chapters that will try to respond in an exhaustive way to the aims related to contemporary use of historical ruins.