**4. Discussion and Future Research**

This paper presents an integrated methodological approach for the choice of sustainable alternative functions for the adaptive reuse of the former monastery of Ritiro del Carmine in the Campania region from a circular economic perspective.

The proposed methodology integrates different evaluation methods to support the whole decision-making process, from the phase of problem definition to the study of the financial feasibility of the chosen project function, in order to encourage the participation of all stakeholders and to define a "shared solution" that can meet the needs of the local community, as well as be sustainable in the long term from an economic point of view.

The presented case study allowed the exploration of the framework in order to support a flexible and adaptive decision-making process that can consider the complex value of cultural heritage and the multiplicity of actors involved in the decision-making process.

The obtained results showed that "Alternative E: Social hub with antiviolence center for women" was the preferred choice considering the defined evaluation criteria. Moreover, this alternative reached the highest level of consensus among the stakeholders involved in the decision-making process. Nevertheless, the solution found is not sustainable from a financial point of view considering the high investment costs; so, the financial analysis showed the need for access to public funding to cover investment costs. The public investment represents an opportunity to recover a building that is a symbol of the community in order to provide a space for growth and cultural exchange, creating the first cultural center of the city and providing a concrete response to the demand for protection of vulnerable women.

The abovementioned experimentation has shown the usefulness of the integration of different evaluation methods to support the decision-making process in the case of renovation of a heritage building characterized by several elements of complexity. In this sense, the proposed approach seemed appropriate to the case study.

Today, the new challenge for local authorities is to regenerate abandoned heritage buildings while involving different stakeholders and the local community in order to create new models of governance which are able to guarantee economic sustainability and the conservation of historical and cultural values, as in the case of the former monastery of Ritiro del Carmine, which has always been a symbolic building for the community.

From this perspective, future research in this field can be oriented toward the search for new circular financing models, particularly in the field of impact financing, as well as new circular governance models, based on the notion of "heritage as commons", starting from the Italian experimentations of municipal civic agreements for commons management.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization: F.T., M.F., and G.A.; Data curation: F.T., M.S. M.F.; Formal analysis: F.T., M.S.; Methodology: F.T.; Validation: F.T., M.F. and G.A.; Writing—original draft: F.T., M.F. G.A. and M.S. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

### **References**


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