An Application of the A’WOT Analysis for the Management of Cultural Heritage Assets: The Case of the Historical Farmhouses in the Aglié Castle (Turin)

Abstract

In recent years, governments, public institutions, and local communities have devoted growing attention to the identification of promising strategies for the preservation and valorization of cultural heritage assets. Decisions on the management of cultural heritage assets based on multiple, often conflicting, criteria and on the stakes of various, and potentially non-consensual actors and stakeholders. In this context, in which the trade-offs between the preservation of assets historical symbolic values and the adaptation to alternative and economically profitable uses play a key role in investment decisions, multi-criteria analyses provide robust theoretical and methodological frameworks to support decision-makers in the design and implementation of adaptive reuse strategies for cultural heritage and public real estate assets. In this paper, we provide a multi-criteria decision aiding approach for ranking valorization strategies of cultural heritage assets aimed at promoting their restoration and conservation, as well as at creating cultural and economic benefits. In detail, we present a novel application of the A’WOT analysis to support the design and implementation of alternative management strategies of abandoned cultural heritage assets. The paper focuses on the potential reuse and management of four historical farmhouses (Cascina Mandria, Cascina Lavanderia, Cascina Gozzani, and Cascina Ortovalle) located in the Agliè Castle estate, one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, currently listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.