Contraction, downsizing, rescaling and subtraction are all words that characterise the urban planning debate with increasing frequency. Two components can be found at the basis of their circulation and declination.On the one hand, the recognition of the vast unused and disused real estate for which regeneration, reuse and renovation are not possible; on the other hand, the will and hope to rebalance the results of the hypertrophic twentieth-century urban development. The legitimacy of these instances is the wides pread belief that demolition and contraction are low-cost operations that can be financed by the owners of the property or through the usual equalisation and negotiation mechanisms. By using a case study, this paper will clear up amis understanding; it will explain how demolition and subtraction costs, which can be put on equal footing with renovations and, in some cases, new construction are sufficiently massive making their implementation within the public and public-private policies very difficult.

The fortress of San Paolino in Ripafratta (San Giuliano Terme, Tuscany, Italy), represents the main structure of the ancient Pisan Republic defensive system towards Lucca. The fortress is the product of several stratifications dating back to the tenth century. It was built in the years between 1162-1164; later on, starting from 1504, significant interventions of modernization were realized by the Florentine Government, probably following a project by Giuliano da San Gallo. Since the early seventeenth century, the fortress lost its military function and passed to private property. Nowadays, the fortress is in a deep state of degradation, even if since 2008 several initiatives has followed for its recovery, unfortunately without success. The paper aims to show the results of an interdisciplinary project for the enhancement of the fortress and its territory. Based on a careful territorial analysis and in-depth historical study, a mix of compatible functions was identified in order to maximize the use of the fortress in all the seasons. A feasibility study was also developed for verifying the economic sustainability of the whole project and identifying possible intervention phases.