The accessibility of archeological area of Pompeii. Knowledge methodology and sustainable proposals

The paper will explore experimentally the improving accessibility of archaeological site of Pompeii, in the broader sense of adaptation, not only to the instance of the removal of architectural and perceptual barriers, but also to the more general enhancement of the site. This latter must be interpreted as the improvement of services for safety and comfort, and as a knowledgeable and informed perception of the archaeological area of Pompeii, one of the most visited in the world. The contribution will deal with a research methodology that started from a survey on the “state of the art” about the subject, a careful analysis of the present state of some selected areas, chosen as studycases, arriving to identify the main morphological and material matters for broader use of the site of Pompeii, and the strategic nodes to implement to support the fruition and development. The research has dealt with users with greater difficulty, made up of people with disabilities, intended not as a separate category, but as part of a whole. In this context, the aim was to propose experimental solutions, careful to the issues of reversibility and material compatibility. Thus, the research started from the field analysis of some case studies and from the ‘hermeneutic’ exercise of conceiving some possible solutions in line with the most updated and shared criteria of restoration, such as the principle of minimum intervention, reversibility, material compatibility with the ‘fragile’ ancient materials of Pompeii, as well as the figurative contemporaneity of modern elements added to increase accessibility.