Materiality and culture of a sacred space. The church and convent of Santa Maria Corteorlandini in historical and contemporary perspectives.

The paper shows the interplay between architectural transformations and the sociocultural contexts that shaped them in the Lucca church and the convent of Santa Maria Corteorlandini. This building represents a unique example of religious architecture. It reflects the influence of the political climate of the Counter-Reformation in the Seventeenth century and the Napoleonic secularizations of the early Nineteenth century. These events, familiar to many churches, in this specific case, involve singular architectural solutions, such as the extensive use of Carrara marble to reaffirm ecclesiastical power or the elevation of the convent above the church hall due to functional needs. The study is part of a PhD in architectural restoration, and multidisciplinary research constitutes the methodological basis. In collaboration with the Ministry Office of the Superintendence for the Provinces of Lucca and Massa Carrara, technical analyses were conducted in situ and correlated with the archive investigation, allowing the reconstruction of the historical dynamics underlying the transformations. Thanks to this approach, it is possible to connect the materiality of the built environment to the cultural contexts that have shaped it. This understanding establishes fundamental relationships between cultural heritage values, providing a methodological foundation for interpreting the building's present and historical-cultural values. Such an approach, extendable to analogous religious heritage, has a forward-looking dimension aimed at preserving the structure. This approach is critical today as new social dynamics—like those affecting many other ecclesiastical assets—are leading to its abandonment due to the gradual dissolving of the communities that historically inhabited it.