Paesaggi fortificati della Costa d’Oro (XV-XVIII secolo). Conoscenza, recupero e valorizzazione dei forti del Ghana

The coasts of Ghana, the ancient Gold Coast, host fourteen forts and castles that represent what remained of the more than sixty structures built by the European countries between 1482 and 1784. They are one of the most atypical fortified landscapes in the world - an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979 - and represents not only the accumulation of building techniques and defensive typologies of European culture of almost four centuries, declined to the African climatic and material conditions, but also the memory of their original function, defensive and control of the slave trade, making these buildings so meaningful. The paper explains the refurbishment project of one of these structures - Fort Apollonia - highlighting not only the technical problems related to the conservation of the monument, but also its reuse in a geographical and cultural context as different as the African continent. The research explores also the constructive aspects of the fort, their relations with the European building techniques locally declined, highlighting the links between functional aspects and construction systems. The Fort Apollonia refurbishment project saw also the need to adapt the methodological approach related to the very particular and difficult boundary conditions, both from the management point of view and the operational tools for recovery and conservation.