URBAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND FRUITION. A RISK MAP FOR HIGH

ANTHROPIC PRESSURE ASSETS.

Fabio Todesco, Universityof Messina–DICIEAMA (fabio.todesco@unime.it)

Abstract: The manners of use of the  urban areas excavation site require an adequate valuation models able

to take into account the complexity of different situations. The archaeological excavations, if they can be

carried easily in  more or less accessible isolated contexts,in urban areas are compared with problems of

investigation discontinuity caused by the availability of land and the fragmentation of funding, which often

result in the continuation and, moreover, submit materials to interact with a new environment, generating

significant worsening of their condition. Numerous excavations carried out by the Superintendent in the city

center ofMessina helped toenlighten the location ofthe town fromthe Archaic period (V-VIIIBC) uptothe

age of the Roman Empire, with medieval layers until the saturation of modern age. In some cases, these

studies have focused on public areas, such as the steps of the University central building or the inner

courtyard of the Town Hall, in which have come to light from the Roman layers until the nineteenth century,

which have posed problems related to use of the sites and the diffusion of information. In most cases,

however, the findings have been made during the construction of new buildings, insisting on private land,

that re-propose the perennial problem which oppose preservation and areas economic value,  so that the

archaeological findings are sometimes considered an annoying burden rather than giving rise to a successful

resource solutions, sometimes impromptu, which does not do justice to the complexity of the layers. This is

the case of the wall of the late classical and Hellenistic found during the construction of a residential

building, in which a finding isolation solution has been chosen,  in a special section obtained in the stairway

hall.The excavation of the church of San Gregorio, located behind the apse of the Cathedral of Messina,

instead, is set up as an example in which the discontinuity of the investigation has crippled any chance of

fruition.The problems of preservations came to light, recur in all of these cases related to the ruins, but they

also include other architectural presences such as the medieval walls or newer buildings that, having lost the

function the same way as the original excavations, they tend to take on new meanings within the current

context.Starting from the observation of some examples it is possible to focus the investigations to assess the

riskofdeterioration oftheassets ofinterest within thecity, identifying themostappropriate actions toenable

anadequateandflexibletothedichotomybetweenpreservationanduse.

Keywords: Urbanarchaeology,Stratigraphy,Excavation,Messina,Preventiveconservation;