Sapienza Roma University, Department of Civil, Building and
Environmental Engineering (DICEA)
&
Bilkent University, Department of Architecture (BUDA)
International Summer School
Architectural Design within Historical Context – Tuscia 2026
Rome, June 15-19, 2026

The “International Summer School: Architectural Design in Historical Context_Tuscia 2026” is a design workshop organized by the Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering (DICEA) at Sapienza University of Rome. Italian and Turkish students will engage with the challenges posed by an area of great cultural and historical significance: the Tuscia region in northern Lazio. The Summer School will focus on the regeneration of a small abandoned settlement within this territory, the village of Celleno Vecchia, which has already been the subject of design research conducted by the workshop organizer in collaboration with the Municipal
Administration.

The initiative will involve professors, visiting, researchers, PhD students, and students from Sapienza University of Rome, together with professors and students from Bilkent University in Ankara, in an experience of applied research and international cooperation.
The workshop aims to explore new scenarios capable of addressing the abandonment of this small settlement, with the goal of enhancing its cultural identity and preserving the remaining traces of its historic structures. The project will develop simple, targeted,
and sustainable design strategies based on the introduction of micro-architectures and temporary, reversible, low-impact installations intended to host cultural and social activities. These interventions will be designed to gradually reactivate public space and encourage
new ways of experiencing the “ghost village.”