From the knowledge process to the rapresentation of the built environment. The case of the “istituto del Rifugio”in Naples

Naples like all historical cities lived, age to age, a cultural and architectural sedimentation that affects not only the formal appearance of the buildings but also the functional articulation both of them and of entire architectural aggregates. It particularly characterizes the urban tissue of the old town, where entire blocks, from the Greek era, have undergone a continuous process of layering and both assortment and configurations editing. This is the case of the church of Santa Maria del Rifugio, located on Tribunali Street, the ancient decumanus of the Greek Neapolis, which over the centuries was built on lands earlier vacant and then used from religious ‘Conservatorio del Rifugio’, ancient charitable institution established since the sixteenth century. This paper aims to investigate the architectural dynamics that such building, both individually and in the contextual building complex in which is confined, has undergone over the years up to reach its current configuration. In this sense, through an historical and cartographic documentary work and contextually a survey of existing structures, we investigate what were the building conditions at different times. By providing several digital reconstructions, the aim is to set cultural tools for further studies, defining a methodological paradigm directed to alike religious structures belonged to one of the most popular and emblematic cultural heritage of the city of Naples.