Inclusive inner areas, a possibility for the Madonie district. Smart criteria to redesign the historic built heritage through technological innovation and accessibility

Abstract

The Madonie Park, the heart of western Sicily, is a vast inner protected area enclosing 21 municipalities in the Province of Palermo. Although it appears to be divided into High and Low Madonie and Madonie Imeresi, which extend from the sea to the mountains, nevertheless most of the territory is distributed in the mountainous area that reaches a peak of 1.979 m above sea level with the summit of Pizzo Carbonara. This results, therefore, in innumerable height differences and elevations that radically characterize the territory and historic centers along with the impossibility of extensive use, especially by the plurality of users with reduced motor skills who live there due to the progressive depopulation of youth in the area. How can technology help in the accessibility and in the revival of territories? The aim of the present research work is to analyze the architectural and historical local peculiarities, focusing on the area of the Municipality of Polizzi Generosa, one of the 21 municipalities. The goal is to identify, through a state-of-the-art analysis, what kind of technological innovations are applied in other territorial areas, both European and Italian, and to apply the same methodology in the area under study to improve its attractive virtualities and fruition. The results of the present work demonstrate how technological implementation criteria identified and applied compatibly with the built heritage, but, above all, extended to all the municipalities of the enclave thanks to the drafting of a shared Atlas with the Superintendence of the Province of Palermo, certainly, make the area accessible. The outcome is the minimization of architectural barriers, the consequent enjoyability of the area to disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged users and contributes, ultimately, to the policy of repopulation making them smart in maintaining the historical memory of place.