Recupero edilizio e funzionale dell'ex carcere delle Murate, Urban renovation complex in Santa Croce district, Florence, Italy

The Recupero Edilizio is a renovation complex built on the site of a former prison in Florence, spanning about 14,500 square meters (156,000 square feet). The project includes housing units, commercial spaces, public squares, and cultural zones accessible to residents and visitors.

The complex was a monastery before becoming a prison; the prison was abandoned in 1984, and the Ministry of Justice transferred it to the City of Florence in 1990. An international competition, "Un'idea per le Murate", drew 161 proposals in 1985/86, but disputes over their quality blocked a decision. Law 179/1992 then allowed Tuscany to assign public housing funds to Florence, and the council approved the recovery project on 14 September 1998; work began in 2001.

The recovery plan set public, commercial, craft and social uses at street level, offices on the first floor and housing above, with maximum permeability on the ground floor. The design brief also insisted on remembering that the complex had been a prison, a constraint that shaped how the new public spaces meet the old walls.

The complex covers about 14,500 m² in the Santa Croce quarter, entered from Via dell'Agnolo and the surrounding streets. The 1998 master plan set maximum permeability at ground level, with public, commercial and social uses on the ground floors, offices above and housing on the upper floors. Look for the layering of functions as you cross the courtyards.

The project was part of the European Reprise network, connecting six cities with similar prison transformations. This partnership brought solutions and lessons from other locations to Florence.