Paola Nicoletta Imbesi

The profound instances of marginalization in recent years have shifted the meaning of issues related to the contemporary city toward a new “urban question”, understood as the centrality of the physical dimension of space in recomposing social and cultural relations and in creating innovative forms of integration between cultural heritage and regeneration processes. The paper proposes a cross-cutting reflection on the structuring role that cultural heritage – particularly the diffuse heritage of smaller physical and perceptive scale – can play in fostering a sense of belonging and strengthening social bonds and every form of rootedness in the territory. The objective – through the analysis of selected best practices – is to identify criteria and principles for activating effective and sustainable regeneration processes that move beyond the concept of “extracting” the artifact from its context, toward a progressive broadening of the field of attention, from the monument to its surroundings, in a sustainable perspective that restores relevance and contemporaneity to the urban areas involved.

The present contribution addresses the issue of heritage-led urban regeneration through a qualitative analysis of Rome’s fortification system, examined as a paradigmatic instance of the transformation of historic defensive infrastructure into a strategic resource for the contemporary city (Connolly, 2015). Three complementary regeneration strategies: promoting of physical accessibility and walkability along the wall circuit; the integrating the fortification system into a network of linear parks; and the supporting of cultural and identity-based appropriation of the surrounding public spaces. From this analytical sequence, a five-principle methodological framework is derived: systemic interpretation of linear heritage, context-sensitive diversification, prioritisation of everyday over touristic use, long-term management sustainability, and participatory governance. Its transferability is understood in analogical rather than statistical terms: Rome compresses within a single continuous structure a range of urban conditions that other European walled cities typically present only in isolated, non-comparable cases; its applicability elsewhere remains an interpretive hypothesis for future comparative research rather than a validated result. Similarly, the observed instances of spontaneous appropriation and community attachment to specific wall sections are read, on the basis of repeated observation, as indicative of a potential for collective identity formation, rather than as an empirically demonstrated outcome, given the study’s qualitative and observational scope. The Roman case thus suggests that linear heritage, when supported by contextually informed valorisation processes, holds significant potential for the regeneration of marginal urban areas and the construction of collective urban identity (Ricci, Mariano 2018).

Contemporary peri-urban landscapes face fragmentation, marginalisation, and the neglect of widespread cultural heritage. This article explores heritage-led regeneration as a strategic framework to revitalise marginal areas by focusing on the Campo Trincerato in Rome, a system of fifteen forts and three batteries constructed between 1877 and 1891. Despite being largely abandoned, these fortifications remain structurally intact and spatially coherent, offering opportunities for reconceptualisation as infrastructural nodes within broader urban and territorial networks. The study adopts a multi-scalar methodological approach, combining architectural analysis of typological and structural features with contextual investigation of accessibility, ownership, and planning frameworks. Results reveal that while the Campo Trincerato maintains its systemic coherence, institutional fragmentation and limited reuse represent major barriers to regeneration. Nevertheless, its configuration as a defensive ring highlights potential to establish cultural polarities, ecological connections, and community-driven functions in Rome’s suburban areas. The findings underscore the significance of integrating cultural heritage into contemporary regeneration strategies, transforming neglected military infrastructure into catalysts for urban identity, social cohesion, and sustainable development.

La connotación de marginalidad y desigualdad socioeconómica, urbana, cultural y social generalizada asociada a la nueva “cuestión urbana” pone de relieve la urgencia de activar políticas, procedimientos e instrumentos que den respuestas integradas a las necesidades de regeneración urbana. Una estrategia que pretende revitalizar las zonas problemáticas, abordando cuestiones relacionadas con la valorización del patrimonio cultural y la integración social. El paisaje italiano puede definirse como un “paisaje cultural”, donde la historia y la naturaleza encuentran su propia estratificación, cargándose de recuerdos y significados. Un paisaje compuesto por redes complejas: materiales e inmateriales, iterativas e integradas. Entre ellas, las redes de emergencias histórico-documentales-arquitectónicas representan herramientas para recomponer relaciones contextuales e iniciar procesos de regeneración. Se pretende ir más allá del concepto de protección tout court, reconociendo su papel decisivo como “polarización nodal”, también desde el punto de vista funcional y social, en la definición de los ordenamientos urbanos y territoriales. La contribución propone una lectura de los Ambiti di programmazione strategica del Piano Regolatore Generale di Roma Capitale (PRG, 2008) como caracterizadoras de paisajes culturales que desempeñan un papel programático de estructuración morfológica y funcional a escala urbana y territorial. En particular, se examinan el Ambito Mura y el Ambito Parco archeologico-monumentale dei Fori-Appia Antica.