An Operational Multi-Criteria Framework for the Adaptive Reuse of Quarry Landscapes: The Cutrofiano Case Study in Southern Italy

This article addresses the regeneration of extractive landscapes through the case study of the abandoned quarry system of Cutrofiano in the Salento region of Southern Italy, positioning the quarry as a critical interface between geology, architecture, and contemporary environmental challenges. The study aims to redefine the quarry landscape not as a residual void, but as a potential ecological and cultural infrastructure. The research adopts an interdisciplinary methodology combining geomorphological and geotechnical surveys, historical and cartographic analysis, spatial interpretation, and a multi-criteria assessment framework to identify vulnerabilities and transformation potentials. The results include a strategic masterplan articulated into three integrated interventions: the conversion of the open-pit quarry into a flood-control basin for hydrogeological risk mitigation and sustainable water management; the transformation of the quarry floor into an energy park; and the design of cultural spaces for public use and territorial enhancement. These strategies demonstrate the feasibility of reconciling environmental safety, renewable energy production, and heritage valorization within a single morphological logic. The study concludes that the quarry can be reinterpreted as a regenerative landscape model, offering transferable tools for Mediterranean contexts characterized by similar geological and socio-economic conditions.