A bioclimatic approach to the restoration of rural architecture in Campania

The rural landscape is the expression of a way of life in synergy with the environment, which materialises in rural architecture and bears witness to a culture of living and building that is closely linked to the place. The rural building is intrinsically bioclimatic and therefore designed according to an energy-saving logic that rationalises the need for comfort and triggers interactions with the environment and its resources. The construction of the rural house has always been based on the choice of natural materials and the materials of the place, now defined as a zero-kilometre building, and follows the principle of belonging to the landscape so that it seems to be an inseparable part of it. This fundamental decision anticipates the concepts of green building and considers environmental sustainability according to the logic of economics and ethics. The lesson of the past is not only a testimony of cultural and anthropic values, but also the starting point of a methodological approach that aims to achieve recovery through the implementation of environmentally sustainable choices. The goal of sustainable recovery through new integrative bioclimatic choices can contribute to making the rural home passive, in a logic that restores life in equilibrium with the environment, with the ultimate goal of revitalising the socio-economic fabric of places. This article proposes the application of the bioclimatic approach to the restoration of two Campanian examples, the Masseria Cerreto of Calvi Risorta (Ce) and the Masseria Nicotera of Marigliano (Na), with the aim of reconciling the choices of the past with those of the present by integrating bioclimatic and green building. Starting from the study of the climatic characteristics of the places, the strategies and passive solar systems that can be used to promote energy saving through the use of existing natural resources are identified. This study highlights the possibility of restoring the bioclimatic matrix inherent in rural architecture, not only to promote the conservation of the landscape in terms of resources and cultural and constructive traditions, but also to define a correct methodological approach that can be replicated for similar contexts to support sustainable rehabilitation policies.