The sale of the public Italian cultural heritage: the compatibility evaluation for the reuse to restrict the intervention of the new owners

In Italy, the presence of many historic and artistic buildings produced a model of cultural heritage management aimed to the conservation of material marks of history and art. Both cultural and normative fields consider each cultural good such as a part of the national identity, and require the pursuance of rules aimed to preserve its civil and symbolic function. The Italian law allows the sale of the cultural public real estate, on condition that the buildings are conserved and exploited, and that the new functions, chosen by the private owners, avoid the loss of their cultural value. The evaluation of building adaptability is an indispensable tool, to manage the conflict between existing values and transformations required by the new owners. The study purposed shows the application of a compatibility evaluation method for the reuse, in order to control the values preservation in the selection of new function for cultural buildings.