Empty places of worship. Investigating disuse & underuse in the Italian context

The aim of this research is to contribute to the interpretation of the phenomenon of places of worship that are underused, disused or abandoned within urban centres, even though they are for the most part considered cultural heritage. What has led these buildings, once landmarks in the urban layout of urban centres and still present at focal points of city centres, to no longer have any function or to be underused? What do we know about the current condition of places of worship on Italian territory? In order to achieve this goal, we need to ask targeted research questions: how many places of worship are there and how many of them are currently in use? Of what historical events have they been rotagonists and to what kind of legislation are they currently subjected? The phenomenon of underused or unused places of worship can be dissected and approached from many points of view, which enrich the framework of information. Looking at the Italian condition, we realise the profound closeness and at the same time distance between places of worship and adjacent conventual religious complexes. The latter often have a different function from their original one and Empty places of worship. Investigating disuse & underuse in the Italian context now host a variety of activities, unlike the adjacent places of worship, with which a gap has been created. The direct comparison of places of worship with adjacent convents can be a useful tool for a better understanding of the phenomenon: what has led places of worship to move away from their (former) convents and remain in disuse, unlike them? A focus on this specific category of places of worship may provide an opportunity to take a closer look at a broad phenomenon. The analysis thus conducted and the data collected will help to gain a quantitative and qualitative understanding of the phenomenon of underuse or non-use of places of worship today, whether they are in use for religious purposes or not. At the end of the survey, it will be possible to make some eflections and draw up some guidelines to address the situation with greater awareness.