The Underground Cisterns of Cisternone at Formia and Palombaro at Matera: Places of Identity between Safeguard, Fruition and Enhancement.

Abstract This paper, as already experienced through other research activities on cultural heritage in the Mediterranean area focusing on the sense of place, will use the social, historical and economic reconstruction to generate and manage the knowledge of the places selected in order to facilitate their use and contribute to their development. The methodology adopted aims to highlight the cultural vitality and the identity of these places for the benefit of tourists and citizens. The case studies were identified by their nature and on the basis of the sub-stantial continuity of the documents starting from the Greek and Roman ages up to modern times. Further, their position in the historical center of the cities, makes them veritable hubs, still poorly understood, used and valued, and that can be subject to systemic research aimed to enrich the available documentation. Methodologically, a preliminary analysis will be carried out to identify the characteristics and the functions of these places. In a second phase, a diachronic historical reconstruction of the sites studied and of the surrounding areas will be carried out to provide an articulated knowledge of the sites and of their secular stratifications that are still recognizable today.