"CULTURAL RUPESTRIAN HERITAGE IN THE CIRCUM-MEDITERRANEAN AREA:
COMMON IDENTITY-NEW PERSPECTIVE" aims at recovering, promote and spreading at European level the memory of the cultural and artistic heritage typical of the cave life developed in the last 4.000 years.
The objective will be achieve throughout the use of innovative tools of research and communication, in order to promote the knowledge of the common historical, architectonic, economic and social culture born within the rupestrian settlements of the Mediterranean area. The research activity and the exchange of innovative skills among partners will increase the common European sense of belonging and the intercultural dialogue between different religions and habits which find in rupestrian settlement a point of contact. The dissemination of results of this intense research activity by the use of scientific and popular tools will stimulate the knowledge of rupestrian culture as a particular attraction to direct new economic strategies of local development.

The few performances of various assessment and evaluation of the cave dwellings of various regions of the Mediterranean coast have been generally aimed at preserving its characteristics and permit continuity of its use in decently habitable terms and conditions. This project would allow a start value of the heritage and the possibility of developing global policies at European level, outreach and sustained maintenance of these buildings while maintaining its social aspect.

The enhancement and the preservation of rupestrian heritage will give the possibility to encourage new skills in restoration field to protect those caves in dangerous and damaged condition, so as to promote craft activity, local traditions, national and international handicrafts, born in this particular condition, as is possible just to find today in France (Saumur and Turquant in which rock caves is been recently opened an art craft's village and an exhibition gallery). The experiences and the objectives worked out by this project and exhibited in final workshop will became best practice to any partners and, as the necessity want, applied in own country, in urban or in territory scale.

The project involves five States of the Mediterranean area: Italy, Turkey, France, Greece and Spain.

The six partners that will take part in the project are the following:

• Italy:
  researchers, experts, historians, archaeologists coming from two institutions: the Dep. of Architectural Planning of the University of Florence to apply new and innovative methods focused on a critical, methodological and analytical processing, that take place during the campaigns of architecture's detection, to read and interpret context changes and to communicate the result through representation of architecture and environment, using the latest technological equipment.
  The 'Archeogruppo' onlus of Massafra (Apulia), to follow archaeological campaigns, census and to animate of rupestrian site. The University of Florence will be the project coordinator.
• Turkey:
  the Virtu Art Faculty of the 'Kadir Has' University of Istanbul. It will participate in the project sharing information, skills and activities with all the others partners. This Organisation is dedicated to become a leader in educational and cultural fields in Turkey, as well as establishing itself as an international centre for research and scientific development, based on an internationally oriented education.
• France:
  experts and researchers by Dep. of Sciences Humaines and Dep. of Science and Techniques for Architecture of the Ecole Superieure Nationale de Paris La Villette will carry out a study about the development of structural aspects of rupestrian settlement and will suggest new perspective for rehabilitation of heritage. They have a long time experience in this kind of settlement and will cooperate in accordance with some local authority and experts of troglodytism in France and at European level.
• Greece:
  the Dep. of Physics of the Polytechnic of Athens. Its involvement will be useful in order to increase the knowledge and the census of the Greek settlements, which haven't been deeply investigate until now. In addition, the Polytechnic will carry out studies on the bio-architectonic characteristics of the settlements in Cappadocia. The Dep. of Physics has a long experience in studying, through the use of innovative technologies, cities located in the desert or in particular geographical and environmental conditions, giving an important contribution to recover the rupestrian settlements in a eco-sustainable manner.
• Spain:
  the Dept. of Architectonic Graphic Expression of the Polytechnic of Valencia. It will contribute to increase the knowledge and the census of the Spanish rupestrian settlements. Furthermore, it will play an important role in studying and researching methods useful to recover frescoes and wall-paints of the Cappadocia settlements, that risk to disappear due to the state of neglect in which they are. The Department has been researching about wall-paints and colour since many time.
  Its role in survey of some cave by innovative instrument as 3D Scanner Laser will became important to the latest activities carried out by partners to promote communication cultural products.
  The research group of the UPV has a long tradition of transnational cooperation in the field of applied research. So, he has collaborated on research projects in Cuba, Brazil, Italy, Portugal, Morocco and Albania.
  The relationship between some partners is particularly strong, and is reflected both in research projects and joint participation in the respective journals as the respective congresses scientificity. Likewise, the relationship is particularly strong among Dep. of Florence and Valencia, including multiple performances have developed joint investigation, which guarantees a high level of collaboration in this project.