By the time it was found, Palazzo RC had become a slow ruin. Not through collapse, but through accumulation. Damage, care, interruptions and repairs had settled over centuries. Each surface held traces of war, bombings, disputes and shifting fashions.
The building had grown as a palimpsest shaped by time. The project began by recording. A digital survey traced curved walls, uneven spans and overlapping construction techniques, allowing every deviation to be understood as part of the structure rather than an irregularity to correct. The long bureaucratic process and its economic constraints shaped the methodology.
The building was treated as a quarry, and as much material as possible was recovered. Plaster was prepared on site with lime and sand. Stones were taken from collapsed areas. Tiles were found in an old cellar. Everything was catalogued and reintroduced through a close exchange with a craftsman whose tools and gestures remain rooted in local tradition.
When required, new elements were designed to remain distinct and fully removable, as new organisms able to grow within the existing structure without imitation. Floors were reconstructed by recomposing the original tiles as woven fields at the centre of each room, completed with new terracotta from the same historical kiln.
The intervention seeks a balance between memory and presence, allowing the palace to continue its journey.
