Reinterpreting the social function The complex of San Michele a Ripa Grande in Rome and the Reale Albergo dei Poveri in Naples

The paper was selected from among those deemed most representative presented at the AID Monument international interdisciplinary study and research conference, held at the University of Perugia in May 2015. The essay deals with the regeneration of the public architectural heritage through two emblematic examples, which are intimately connected: the complex of San Michele a Ripa Grande in Rome, attributed principally to Carlo Fontana, author of the most refined architectures of Italian artistic season at the turn of the eighteenth century; and the Reale Albergo dei Poveri of Naples built by Charles III of Bourbon to the mid-eighteenth century to house the poor people of the kingdom. Both structures mark, for the size and quality of the language used, the surrounding urban fabric forming, ahead of its time, outstanding examples of architecture of the Enlightenment conceived and designed to ensure compliance with the public and social functions.