Model village

Eighteen months after an earthquake struck the heart of Abruzzo, killing 308 people, the region’s capital city, L’Aquila, is still a ghost town. Buildings and monuments have been secured and all the rubble removed, but the “red zone” in the 13th-century city centre is still a no-go area and its residents, relocated elsewhere, are starting to despair of ever returning.

During last year’s G8 summit held in a police school outside L’Aquila, Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, pledged to rebuild the city by 2013. Since then, however, Guido Bertolaso, head of the Civil Protection Agency that led relief efforts, has warned that it could take a decade, explaining that the government chose to build new apartment buildings and small wooden houses “so that people do not have to live in containers for 10 years”.

Urban experts such as Professor Pierluigi Properzi, co-ordinator of a recent detailed report on L’Aquila, have in turn stressed the need for action. “People want to move on with their lives. If a city is not reconstructed within five years, it dies,” he says.

“Allowing L’Aquila to die would be a crime,” says Daniele Kihlgren, an architectural conservator whose successful efforts to revive half-abandoned villages in the mountains of central Italy are providing inspiration for the town.

Born of a Swedish father and an Italian mother, Kihlgren grew up in Milan. When his father died he inherited the family’s cement factory, and his battle against this modern material began. He scouted the country and, risking bankruptcy, bought as much property as he could across Abruzzo, stripping away modern cement to restore historic buildings to their former glory.

Architectural restoration has been Kihlgren’s obsession for the past 10 years, ever since he chanced upon Santo Stefano in Sessanio, a medieval village 27km from L’Aquila and 100km north-east of Rome, while riding his old BMW motorbike.

Kihlgren found the hamlet half-abandoned – more as a result of poverty-driven mass emigration than periodic quakes – and its houses seemed to offer the perfect opportunity for his vision to flourish.

“None of the inhabitants were wealthy enough to construct those dreadful and pretentious ‘Swiss chalets’,” says the 43-year-old. “In fact, Santo Stefano was the perfect example of a minor heritage site.”

Kihlgren’s work has restored the character of the village to its 13th-century origins, when it flourished on the wealth of the Carfagna sheep wool industry.

Houses have been converted into austere rooms for his rambling Sextantio hotel, complete with fireplaces and wool mattresses. Others he bought were later put up for sale. On nearby land he has revived the production of lentils and grains that now supply the hotel restaurant. And, as a token of modernity, Kihlgren has also equipped the village with Wi-Fi.

Visitors, mostly foreign tourists, including the actor George Clooney, stroll through the maze of courtyards, cobblestone alleys, wooden doorways and granite stairways. Modest stone buildings and palazzi blend together, the stunning result of unplanned urban development.

Against general scepticism and even some local grumbling, Hotel Sextantio turned out to be a money-maker.

“This project has become an economic flywheel for the area: the value of property has increased 10-fold. People are now coming here from the valley to look for work,” says Kihlgren, who is proud that his hotel has actually increased its business since the economic crisis hit, “proving that I am not just an environmental lunatic”.

Much of Santo Stefano survived last year’s quake relatively unscathed, perhaps due in part to Kihlgren’s reconstruction techniques.

Besides restoring 10 houses in Santo Stefano, two of which have sold so far, Kihlgren has since acquired 10 more ruined hamlets in the same region.

As for L’Aquila, Kihlgren says the “battle” is in striking a balance between restoring its many monuments while protecting its “minor” heritage.

“If only churches are reconstructed, L’Aquila will never be the same,” he warns. Pointing at a new complex erected beside the main state road to house some of the 48,000 people displaced by last year’s tragedy, Kihlgren says that sometimes it is not the earthquakes that destroy cultural heritage so much as the reconstruction.

Massimo Cialente, mayor of L’Aquila, who resigned from the committee for reconstruction in protest against the delays and the government’s focus on construction outside the city, says that “Daniele Kihlgren’s example is a model for the city.”

Cialente is working on ideas to transform L’Aquila into a conference hub, developing the university and tourism, and possibly creating a tax-free zone. However the central government has yet to find the money needed for these important projects.

Antonio Napoletano, president of Europa Risorse SGR, an Italian asset management firm specialising in real estate funds, sees L’Aquila as a site to develop environmentally-friendly infrastructure with state-of-the-art anti-seismic features. SGR has established a fund to buy and manage 500 apartments to rent out to the homeless, and another to rebuild buildings in the city centre.

“Where in the world do you have such a laboratory, having to restore ancient buildings but also constructing, from new, over 40 per cent of the city?” he asks. “But it needs a master plan or investors will not show up. Money will determine the timing of the reconstruction.”

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Hamlet revival

Kihlgren’s new venture is the restoration of 10 crumbling hamlets in the Apennines. One is Musellaro, a 12th-century fortified settlement. Perched on a crag, the fortress ruins overlook the Valle dell’ Orta nature reserve.

Following the Santo Stefano model, Kihlgren plans to create both a small hotel as well as homes for sale. He is being assisted by David Chipperfield architects.

Reconstruction may take two years following strict conservation criteria and using local reclaimed materials. Building costs are around €1,300 to €1,500 per square metre.

Two such 50 sq m homes in Santo Stefano have been sold for over €250,000. Half a dozen more await buyers. With barrel-vaulted ceilings, the monastic-feel interiors have terracotta kitchenettes, stone fireplaces, plus modern underfloor heating.

www.sextantio.it

privatehomes@sextantio.it for info on homes for sale or property project