EVALUATION PROCESSES IN ADAPTIVE REUSE OF RELIGIOUS CULTURAL HERITAGE. ST. SOPHIE BENEDICTINE MONASTERY IN SALERNO, ITALY

The Horizon 2020 CLIC project develops integrated evaluation tools to support choices for Cultural Heritage Adaptive Reuse, taking into account the "intrinsic value" and thus the Social Complex Value of heritage in the perspective of the Circular Economy. ADAPTIVE REUSE OF ST. SOPHIE BENEDICTINE MONASTERY A MULTIDIMENSIONAL IMPACT EVALUATION PROPOSAL History. The Benedictine monastery of St. Sophie in Salerno was realized in the X Century AD and has a long history of uses and reuses over centuries. It was seat of Benedictine nuns, Jesuits and Carmelitan fathers. In XIX Century the building became a Civil Courthouse and in XIX Century it was a public school. Adaptive reuse. After a long period of abandonment, the monastery was recovered for public events and exhibitions. In 2016 a renovation and reuse project turned it into Innovation Palace hosting a co-working space for start-ups, incubator and venture capital services, meetings and events rooms. Intrinsic value and use values. The intrinsic value is the "essential" value that is rooted in history and culture. It is here linked to the Benedictine Regula "hora et labora". The intrinsic value still represents the fundament that should orient any adaptive reuse perspective of disused religious cultural heritage. A "rational" choice is that aiming at the compatibility between possible use values and intrinsic value. Circular economy: some elements. o Led lighting system to reduce energy consumption o Green procurement preferring reused and recycled materials for furniture o Recovery and reuse of parts of the building o Awareness raising campaigns targeting users on sustainable and healthy lifestyles Impacts of new uses. "Palazzo Innovazione" currently hosts 10 start-ups and about 100 coworkers who fi nd a peaceful and creative working atmosphere in the monastery. Most users work in the creative and cultural industry. The brand added value of Palazzo Innovazione is the heritage value of the place. The area is revitalized thanks to new activities, users and visitors. A qualitative evaluation can be expressed considering the following areas of impacts to assess the complex value of the adaptive reuse project and compare it with negative impacts, if present. o Cultural heritage values conservation, regeneration and transmission o Circularity of conservation works: reuse and reduce materials, energy, water and soil consumption o Circular business, self-fi nancing and governance models: longer-term and equitable growth o Positive impacts in the area linked to enhanced place attractiveness: regenerating economic, social, environmental and cultural capital