Conversion of a church into a concert hall: discussions about concerns and acoustic design solutions

Italy is a country rich in historical monuments such as: churches, theatres, squares, historic buildings, castles. The problem is to use these buildings for the purposes of possible cultural enjoyment. Thus it happens that churches can change their original intended use and be used as cultural attractors to host conferences or concerts. One possible solution is to change the acoustics of these places to adapt to concert or conference halls. The St Spirit’s church in Aversa, located north of Naples in Italy, is one of the historical-artistic buildings to be valorized. Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed by the 1980 earthquake. Restoration work began in 2021 with the reconstruction of a new roof and the restoration of the floor and walls. This contribution deals with the acoustic project of the church. Inside the church, the construction of a stage in place of the altar and the installation of sound-absorbing panels are planned. To develop the project, acoustic measurements were carried out and, with the aid of dedicated software for architectural acoustics, possible solutions to improve the room’s acoustics were studied.