Italian Grain Silos. Analysis, conservation and adaptive reuse of a modern industrial heritage

The Dissertation focuses on the grain silos built in Italy during the 1930s, when the so-called ammassi granari collettivi (collective grain storages) were put into service under the pressure of the autarchic Fascist policies. Those buildings represents today a significant architectural heritage which is largely unused and rarely object of attention. The main objectives of this research are: (1) to perform a critical analysis of the Italian grain silos of the Fascist period, defining their features, assessing their values, performing their mapping and initiating their inventory; (2) to propose a framework for guidelines for the conservation and adaptive reuse of such structures, addressing the main challenges raised by their typology, their construction elements, and their deeply different territorial contexts. The research was developed with a multidisciplinary approach and was organized in the following parts: (1) Modern architecture and Industrial heritage: between knowledge, conservation and adaptive reuse; (2) The Italian grain silos of the fascist period: from the history of the typology to the statement of significance; (3) Conservation and reuse challenges in two emblematic case studies: the silos of Arezzo and Albinia; (4) Developing reuse and conservation policies: a proposal of inventory fiches and a framework for guidelines.