The Hypogea of Santarcangelo di Romagna. Notes for the valorisation of a hidden heritage

The hypogeus settlements of Romagna, thanks to their complexity and diversity, define a real underground world, still little known and investigated. The hypogeus architecture of the Santarcangelo medieval hamlet constitutes a complex system of artificial caves documented since the XV century: a real subterranean city, dug into the Jovis Hill. The molassic consistency of the ground has permitted the creation of about 150 caves, whose primitive function is till now uncertain: maybe born as sacred place, the only certainty was the up-to-date use as wine cellars and air-raid shelters. Starting from the summary existing cataloguing of the whole underground system, with the forecast of new reliefs, the research aims at increasing the knowledge about the hypogea, monitoring and describing their state of deterioration. Also the main structural damages and the bio-deterioration of the surfaces are highlighted and from these criticalities an appropriate intervention strategy is developed toward an accurate conservation. Because of the testimonial and historical importance of the complex, the essay deals also with the problems connected to the fruition of the caves, already partly opened to the public. In the end, all the information would flow into some notes for a planned preventive maintenance regarding not only the whole hypogeus complex, but also its context. Therefore the very aim of this research project is to develop an ambitious project of valorisation.