Historical hospitals in Naples: enhancing construction techniques as a strategy for potential urban regeneration interventions

The historical hospitals of Naples represent a significant heritage section of existing buildings. The city is an important case study, not only for the quantity of monumental hospital structures in the urban context, but for clear characteristics that define their values, from the artistic-cultural richness to the typological and constructive quality. Above all, from the construction point of view, the methods originally used to build these health structures are representative of traditional Neapolitan building techniques and essential starting points when considering sustainable regeneration interventions. This paper analyzes the traditional construction techniques of selected historical hospitals in Naples. The technological characteristics and structural systems of two emblematic case studies are examined with the aim of identifying relevant strategies for sustainable and effective regeneration interventions. The results show that the knowledge of traditional construction techniques helps to select appropriate regeneration solutions.