Perugia Open City

Building below and above the existing

Abstract

Italy’s historic city centres, grown upon themselves without consuming either soil or memory by building below and above the existing, are a model of sustainability made in Italy. However, sustainability is not simply a synonym for reducing energy consumption; it is instead embodied in a historical and cultural continuity principle linking the city of the past, the city of the present and the city of the future and merging its stratified identity into a unicum.