Integration of Photovoltaic Systems in Historic Centers: Technologies and Landscape Protection

Energy transition policies mainly regard cities as the place hosting most of the population and determining greater energy consumption. Historical urban centers can represent a key place to improve environmental sustainability and livability. This article reports a review of the state of the art concerning the regeneration of urban areas through solar energy integration, as solar energy is the most feasible and spreadable renewable-based technology from energetic, economic, social user acceptance, and technology readiness perspectives. The novelty of this article lies in its multidisciplinary approach as it investigates the opportunities and challenges in terms of three domains (solar system technologies and materials, urban integration, and regulative aspects). To provide the scientific community with possible innovative research lines and urban decision makers with possible strategies, relevant outcomes of this article are notable in a case study in which current technologies that can be integrated into a historic urban setting are compared. This study highlights that existing studies often focus on single aspects, while boosting the energy transition and concretely supporting decision makers requires an extensive assessment specific to various features that characterize architecture and the context in question.