Un restauro rinnegato: la ricostruzione della facciata della basilica di San Bernardino all’Aquila

The restoration works carried out in the last century on the facade of the San Bernardino Basilica not only constitute a completely unpublished story, but offer various reasons for reflection. The split between structure and form, on which the intervention of the Civil Engineering Department is based, produces an extreme choice poorly based on the real danger. A singular distance between the theoretical-methodological acquisitions and the practice is evident, aimed at continuing what has already been achieved in the past without any critical reflection. The monumental sixteenth-century facade was almost completely disassembled and rebuilt with an internal frame in reinforced concrete in 1958-1962, although it was unharmed both in 1703 (when an earthquake damaged the dome, which was later rebuilt), and in 1915 during the earthquake that destroyed Marsica. In addition to the inopportune demolition, the oblivion that characterizes the story is surprising; here it is reconstructed on the basis of the technical reports and documents of the construction site. The recent seismic events have subjected the facade to a test which has proved to be effective, but have also confirmed the vulnerability of the dome and the bell tower, already manifested in the past. Today we cannot ignore the real consistency of the building and future conservation criticalities, nor persist in the obstinate separation between structural and restoration issues (as if this concerned only the superficial aspect).I lavori di consolidamento e restauro compiuti nel secolo scorso sulla facciata della basilica di San Bernardino non solo costituiscono una vicenda del tutto inedita, ma offrono diversi motivi di riflessione.La scissione tra struttura e forma, su cui è basato l’intervento del Genio Civile, produce in questo caso una scelta estrema e scarsamente fondata su una reale pericolosità. È evidente una singolare distanza tra le acquisizioni teorico-metodologiche e la prassi, diretta a proseguire quanto già realizzato in passato senza alcuna riflessione critica.La monumentale facciata cinquecentesca fu smontata quasi integralmente e ricostruita con un telaio interno in calcestruzzo armato nel 1958-1962, nonostante fosse risultata illesa sia nel 1703 (quando il terremoto danneggiò la cupola, poi ricostruita), sia nel 1915 durante il sisma che distrusse la Marsica.Oltre alla inopportuna demolizione, sorprende l’oblio che caratterizza la vicenda qui ricostruita puntualmente sulla base delle relazioni tecniche e dei documenti di contabilità del cantiere.I recenti eventi sismici hanno sottoposto la facciata ad un collaudo rivelatosi efficace, confermando piuttosto la vulnerabilità della cupola e del campanile (già manifestatasi in passato); oggi tuttavia non si può ignorare la reale consistenza della fabbrica e le future criticità conservative, né persistere nella ostinata separazione tra questioni strutturali e di restauro, come se questo riguardasse solo l’aspetto superficiale.

Spopolamento e abbandono nei paesi montani d’Abruzzo: degrado e risorsa. Un processo reversibile?

The topic of depopulated towns has been dealt with an approach aimed to their re-functionalization, sometimes producing results very far from history and from the meanings that those places represent.Now this issue is dealt with a different perspective, considering that the abandonment can be considered a resource, and not just a cause of degradation. The abandonment permitted to preserve the authenticity of these places and today is an important source of attraction. While this renewed interest could contribute to the material conservation of buildings, it may also modify them irreversibly.The earthquakes of 2009 and 2016-2017 have produced new abandonments and they are causing reconstructions that significantly alter the towns and the landscape. Considering the results in progress, there is a general lack of understanding of historical buildings considered exclusively as “real estate” to refurbish.The reflection on depopulated centers cannot be limited to the reuse but must experiment different modalities, based on the significance of the places and the values to be preserved.The history and the relationship with the territory prefigure other possibilities; today new sensitivities encourage the "returns" to mountains as alternative choices towards the models of today's society. Mountain villages offer the possibility of experimenting with new forms of sociality, economy, hospitality but they must be considered as an integral part of the landscape to protected. Spopolamento e abbandono nei paesi montani d’Abruzzo: degrado e risorsa. Un processo reversibile?Il tema dei paesi spopolati è generalmente trattato con un approccio finalizzato alla rifunzionalizzazione, producendo risultati talora molto lontani dalla storia che quei luoghi rappresentano.Se visto con una prospettiva diversa, l’abbandono può essere considerato una risorsa e non solo una causa di degrado; esso ha permesso di preservare l'autenticità dei luoghi ed è oggi un'importante fonte di attrazione, soprattutto in contesti di interesse paesaggistico.Sebbene il riuso possa contribuire alla conservazione degli edifici, c’è il rischio che questi siano sfigurati da interventi poco consapevoli dei valori e dei significati che li caratterizzano.Gli eventi sismici del 2009 e del 2016-2017 hanno prodotto sia nuovi abbandoni, sia ricostruzioni che alterano in modo significativo l’architettura e il paesaggio. Considerando i risultati in corso, si osserva una generale mancata comprensione del costruito storico considerato esclusivamente come "patrimonio immobiliare" da restituire all’efficienza.La riflessione sui centri spopolati non può limitarsi al nuovo utilizzo, ma deve sperimentare altre modalità basate sull’identità dei luoghi e sui significati da preservare. La storia e il rapporto con il territorio prefigurano altre possibilità; oggi nuove sensibilità incoraggiano i "ritorni" nei paesi montani come scelte alternative verso i modelli della società di oggi, ma questi luoghi – in cui sperimentare nuove forme di socialità, economia e ospitalità – devono essere parte integrante del paesaggio da tutelare.Il tema dei paesi spopolati è generalmente trattato con un approccio finalizzato alla rifunzionalizzazione, producendo risultati talora molto lontani dalla storia che quei luoghi rappresentano.Se visto con una prospettiva diversa, l’abbandono può essere considerato una risorsa e non solo una causa di degrado; esso ha permesso di preservare l'autenticità dei luoghi ed è oggi un'importante fonte di attrazione, soprattutto in contesti di interesse paesaggistico.Sebbene il riuso possa contribuire alla conservazione degli edifici, c’è il rischio che questi siano sfigurati da interventi poco consapevoli dei valori e dei significati che li caratterizzano.Gli eventi sismici del 2009 e del 2016-2017 hanno prodotto sia nuovi abbandoni, sia ricostruzioni che alterano in modo significativo l’architettura e il paesaggio. Considerando i risultati in corso, si osserva una generale mancata comprensione del costruito storico considerato esclusivamente come "patrimonio immobiliare" da restituire all’efficienza.La riflessione sui centri spopolati non può limitarsi al nuovo utilizzo, ma deve sperimentare altre modalità basate sull’identità dei luoghi e sui significati da preservare. La storia e il rapporto con il territorio prefigurano altre possibilità; oggi nuove sensibilità incoraggiano i "ritorni" nei paesi montani come scelte alternative verso i modelli della società di oggi, ma questi luoghi – in cui sperimentare nuove forme di socialità, economia e ospitalità – devono essere parte integrante del paesaggio da tutelare. Depopulation and abandonment in the mountain villages of Abruzzo: degradation and resource. A reversible process?The topic of depopulated towns has been dealt with an approach aimed to their re-functionalization, sometimes producing results very far from history and from the meanings that those places represent.Now this issue is dealt with a different perspective, considering that the abandonment can be considered a resource, and not just a cause of degradation. The abandonment permitted to preserve the authenticity of these places and today is an important source of attraction. While this renewed interest could contribute to the material conservation of buildings, it may also modify them irreversibly.The earthquakes of 2009 and 2016-2017 have produced new abandonments and they are causing reconstructions that significantly alter the towns and the landscape. Considering the results in progress, there is a general lack of understanding of historical buildings considered exclusively as “real estate” to refurbish.The reflection on depopulated centers cannot be limited to the reuse but must experiment different modalities, based on the significance of the places and the values to be preserved.The history and the relationship with the territory prefigure other possibilities; today new sensitivities encourage the "returns" to mountains as alternative choices towards the models of today's society. Mountain villages offer the possibility of experimenting with new forms of sociality, economy, hospitality but they must be considered as an integral part of the landscape to protected

La comprensione del restauro in un contesto post-sismico, tra criticità, strumenti, opportunità e prospettive

In the event of disasters, the concept of restoration is often misrepresented as a (impossible) return to previous situations, or limited to decorative elements considered as accessories that can be separated from the architectural organism; in any case, it is placed in the background (if not completely ignored) with respect to the issues of safety and usability. The understanding of the values and the meanings of architecture is therefore distorted and canceled with respect to the urgency of "recovering" a heritage identified only in the best-known monuments, neglecting the theoretical reflections developed following the wars destructions and, in particular, the experiences of previous post-seismic reconstructions that often disfigured cities and territories more than the immediate damage itself. Yet, if on the one hand the study of buildings in damaged contexts presents significant critical issues, on the other hand the material observation provides significant opportunities for the deepening of historical-construction knowledge; this learning – essential for understanding the actual state of damage and vulnerability, often determined by anthropic actions – also provides the opportunity to develop new knowledge on the heritage itself. Teaching for architectural restoration therefore assumes a central role both to reflect on the purposes of conservation and to contribute significantly to the realization of the knowledge path indicated by the Guidelines and regulations.In occasione di catastrofi il concetto di restauro viene spesso travisato come un (impossibile) ritorno a situazioni precedenti, oppure limitato agli elementi decorativi considerati come accessori separabili dall’organismo architettonico; in ogni caso, esso è posto in secondo piano (quando non del tutto ignorato) rispetto alle questioni della sicurezza e del ripristino della funzionalità.La comprensione dei valori e dei significati dell’architettura risulta quindi distorta e annullata rispetto all’urgenza di “recuperare” un patrimonio identificato solo nei monumenti più noti, trascurando le riflessioni teoriche sviluppate in seguito alle distruzioni belliche e, in particolare, le esperienze delle precedenti ricostruzioni post-sismiche che spesso hanno sfigurato città e territori più degli stessi danni immediati.Eppure, se da un lato lo studio degli edifici nei contesti danneggiati presenta notevoli criticità, dall’altro l’osservazione materiale fornisce rilevanti opportunità per l’approfondimento della conoscenza storico-costruttiva; tale apprendimento – essenziale per comprendere l’effettivo stato di danno e vulnerabilità, spesso determinate da azioni antropiche – consente di sviluppare nuove conoscenze sul patrimonio stesso.La didattica per il restauro assume quindi un ruolo centrale sia per riflettere sulle finalità della conservazione, sia per contribuire in modo significativo a realizzare il percorso di conoscenza indicato dalle normative

The Bone Yard

This novel explores the everyday lives of two blue-collar workers Levi and Cressida -over the course of one summer in a rural fruit processing plant. The main protagonists exhibit contrasting forms of faith and courage, which drives their divergent fates. Levi is a soul-searching twenty-five-year-old high school dropout who feels extraordinary obligation to family and is engaged to his pregnant girlfriend. Although Levi\u27s father wants him to stay home and take over the family\u27s strawberry farm, he intends to amass the courage to return to school and get a degree in agronomy. In contrast, Cressida is a twenty-year-old senior in astronomy who is driven by a personal code of honor but misguided by a flawed definition of courage. Confused by her father\u27s philandering and her mother\u27s alcoholism, Cressida loses touch with her dream of becoming an astronaut and finds a dubious stability in her relationship with an unhappily married supervisor, Richard. Over the course of the summer, while Cressida struggles to believe in Richard\u27s mercurial promise of marriage, she pursues various excesses as convenient forms of escape, which send her into a decidedly downward spiral. Contrastingly, Levi steadily pulls himself upward. After his girlfriend\u27s miscarriage and sudden departure, he resolves to take advantage of his second chance. Guided by intense resolve and a viable definition of courage, Levi focuses on leaving the plant behind, while consistently discouraging Cressida\u27s ostensible friendship with Richard, who he believes to be craven and lacking conviction. In the end, the self-centered Richard coldly informs Cressida that things are over between them. Trying to cope with the unanticipated betrayal, Cressida flees with coworkers to a favorite party spot on a trestle where she inadvertently slips to her death. Cressida\u27 s untimely end is rooted in the convergence between the momentum of bad decision-making and the capricious nature of external forces. Levi, having successfully faced the various demons that had held him down, leaves the farm for the valley university in order to pursue his dream of becoming an agronomist

Acute Stress Increases Sex Differences in Risk Seeking in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task

BACKGROUND:Decisions involving risk often must be made under stressful circumstances. Research on behavioral and brain differences in stress responses suggest that stress might have different effects on risk taking in males and females. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:In this study, participants played a computer game designed to measure risk taking (the Balloon Analogue Risk Task) fifteen minutes after completing a stress challenge or control task. Stress increased risk taking among men but decreased it among women. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Acute stress amplifies sex differences in risk seeking; making women more risk avoidant and men more risk seeking. Evolutionary principles may explain these stress-induced sex differences in risk taking behavior

Effects of Housing Social Context on Emotional Behaviour and Physiological Responses in Female Mice

In laboratory breeding procedures, mice are usually housed in single-sex unfamiliar groups since weaning,  while individual housing is widely employed in many experimental settings. While there is a considerable  amount of evidence on the behavioural and physiological effects of various social contexts in male mice  and rats, few data are available on female mice. We examined short-term modulation of social context in the  housing environment on exploratory and emotional behaviours in response to novelty (i.e., free-exploratory  open field) and on physiology (i.e. organs and body weight, and basal corticosterone level) of female CD1  mice, taking into account the estrous phase as an additional variable. Living alone or grouped with siblings  or with unfamiliar females for a short period (7 days) did not affect any physiological indexes of stress in  female house mice and had marginal effects on emotional behaviour. When challenged with a free choice  between a novel environment and their home cage, female mice housed with siblings did not differ on any  behavioural parameter from females housed with same-aged unfamiliar mice, while individually housed  females showed higher propensity to enter the novel arena but no differences in activity or in anxiety as  compared to grouped mice. Information about sex specifics under standard housing conditions as well as in  response to common laboratory procedures could be important for the understanding of sex differences in  vulnerability to psychiatric disorders and response to drug treatment.

Chronic unpredictable stress regulates visceral adipocyte-mediated glucose metabolism and inflammatory circuits in male rats

Chronic psychological stress is a prominent risk factor involved in the pathogenesis of many complex diseases, including major depression, obesity, and type II diabetes. Visceral adipose tissue is a key endocrine organ involved in the regulation of insulin action and an important component in the development of insulin resistance. Here, we examined for the first time the changes on visceral adipose tissue physiology and on adipocyte-associated insulin sensitivity and function after chronic unpredictable stress in rats. Male rats were subjected to chronic unpredictable stress for 35 days. Total body and visceral fat was measured. Cytokines and activated intracellular kinase levels were determined using high-throughput multiplex assays. Adipocyte function was assessed via tritiated glucose uptake assay. Stressed rats showed no weight gain, and their fat/lean mass ratio increased dramatically compared to control animals. Stressed rats had significantly higher mesenteric fat content and epididymal fat pad weight and demonstrated reduced serum glucose clearing capacity following glucose challenge. Alterations in fat depot size were mainly due to changes in adipocyte numbers and not size. High-throughput molecular screening in adipocytes isolated from stressed rats revealed activation of intracellular inflammatory, glucose metabolism, and MAPK networks compared to controls, as well as significantly reduced glucose uptake capacity in response to insulin stimulation. Our study identifies the adipocyte as a key regulator of the effects of chronic stress on insulin resistance, and glucose metabolism, with important ramifications in the pathophysiology of several stress-related disease states

Comparative prediction of cardiac events by wall motion, wall motion plus coronary flow reserve, or myocardial perfusion analysis: a multicenter study of contrast stress echocardiography

ObjectivesThis study sought to determine whether the increasing difficulty of assessing wall motion (WM), Doppler coronary flow reserve on the left anterior descending coronary artery (CFR-LAD), and myocardial perfusion (MP) during stress echocardiography (SE) was justified by increasing prognostic information in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.BackgroundThe use of echocardiographic contrast agents during SE permits the assessment of both CFR-LAD and MP, but their relative incremental prognostic value is undefined.MethodsThis study followed a multicenter cohort of 718 patients for 16 months after high-dose dipyridamole contrast SE for evaluation of known or suspected coronary artery disease. The ability of WM, CFR-LAD, and MP to predict cardiac events was studied by multivariable models and risk reclassification.ResultsAbnormal SE was detected as a reversible WM abnormality in 18%, reversible MP defect in 27%, and CFR-LAD <2 in 38% of subjects. Fifty cardiac events occurred (annualized event rate 6.0%). A normal MP stress test had a 1-year hard event rate of 1.2%. The C-index of outcomes prediction based on clinical data was improved with MP (p < 0.001) and WM/CFR-LAD (p = 0.037), and MP (p = 0.003) added to clinical and WM data. Net risk reclassification was improved by adding MP (p < 0.001) or CFR-LAD (net reclassification improvement p = 0.001) in addition to clinical and WM data. The model including clinical data, WM/CFR-LAD, and MP performed better than that without MP did (p = 0.012).ConclusionsThe multiparametric assessment of WM, CFR-LAD and MP during stress testing in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease is feasible. Contrast SE allowed better prognostication, irrespective of the use of CFR-LAD or MP. The addition of either CFR-LAD or MP assessment to standard WM analysis and clinical parameters yielded progressively higher values for the prediction of cardiac events and may be required in today's intensively treated patients undergoing SE, because their average low risk of future cardiac events requires methods with higher predictive sensitivity than that available with standalone WM assessment