a b s t r a c tThe cultural content of ancient sites highlights the importance of light, which is an essential tool for the correct appreciation of the historical value and memory of cultural heritage. This should be a new way to highlight significance of fragments in compliance of the surrounding, which has not the same characteristics, to signal a visual path, creating itineraries that involve the context. Light plays a very important role in creating emotion, suggestion, evocation and supporting the visitor experience. Innovative technological solutions should be designed taking into account the kind of landscape and morphological characteristics of the site. This paper presents the study of a sample of Italian and international case studies, seen in their historical, archaeological and museological aspects. The emphasis is on what should be the most effective lighting system for the monumental sites, one respecting the ruins and the authenticity of the site, while at the same time bringing out their architectural, historical and symbolic significance.

The conservation science is one of the most complex topics in the materials science as it requires interdisciplinary expertise ranging from the architecture, the technology of materials to the advanced analytical and physical chemistry. However, the recent development has shown that the complex tasks of the conservation of the cultural heritage can be solved very effectively using novel nanomaterials and nanotechnology methods.

The project activity presides over the choice of materials and technical capacity within two dimensions of action: the previous knowledge and the tension about the future. That allowed us to identify the succession of the “technological and material” paradigms that have come and gone, featuring the project with the arrival of new materials and production processes. The advent of composite smart materials has challenged all the materials overturning the features.

Theskinof buildings represents the first level of communication between construction, man and environment. In this relationship, the concept of communication acquires different values, because it can be applied both to the architectural field in relation to the shape, and to the perceptive and communicative sphere, aimed to transmission of messages or even to the interaction of the architectural envelope with the user and the environment. This brings us back to the energy and sustainability aspects, since the primary role as a separation and filter layer of the building façades is that of shielding. The solution with a kinetic façade constitutes not only a possibility of climatic mediation between outside and inside, guaranteeing ventilation and protection from solar radiation, but allows to redesign the aesthetic, communicative and perceptive appearance of a building. The contribution focuses on the communicative and perceptive potential of the façades and the ongoing experimentations of the new smart materials applied to these.