Planning and managing the heritage-led regeneration of inner areas. The Sextantio experience in Santo Stefano di Sessanio

This paper examines the transformation of the medieval village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio (L'Aquila, Italy) into a scattered hotel (albergo diffuso). In 1999, the Italian-Swedish entrepreneur Daniele Elow Kihlgren gave new life to this abandoned village, triggering a process of heritage-led regeneration. The project was called “Sextantio”, from the toponym of the ancient Roman settlement located near the present-day town. This contribution analyses the methodological approach adopted to redesign the village and the criteria of architectural intervention applied to the historical buildings to accommodate new uses, considering, 20 years later, their pros and cons. By retracing the causes and consequences of the abandonment-rebirth of the place, this paper highlights Kihlgren’s innovative skill in cultural planning and his ability to manage and systemically organize the project with a strong orientation towards coevolution with the reference environment. In this perspective, this study underlines the importance of an entrepreneurial operation of specific cultural relevance, addressing issues such as the conservation and enhancement of tangible and intangible heritage, the social use-value and the identity of places, but also the impacts of an extreme minimalism in conservation practices, the use of the village by an elite clientele and the long-term economic sustainability of the project