The new management of cultural heritage goes through accessible routes, sustainability and also public-private partnerships. With the speech of Christian Greco, concluded the three-day “Barocco Heritage” promoted by the tourist destination “Enjoy Barocco.”
The future of cultural heritage lies in new strategies involving experiential pathways, ability to transfer more information, and above all, accessibility and inclusiveness. He has no doubts Christian Greco, director of the Egyptian Museum of Turin, today in Scicli to conclude the three-day “Barocco Heritage,” the scientific popularization and events event that involved dozens of Italian and foreign university professors while also providing tourists and visitors with extraordinary openings, guided tours, performances, concerts, and archeotrekking.
The initiative is from “Enjoy Barocco,” the unique tourism destination promoted through Psr measure 16.3 within the LAG Terra Barocca territory to which the Comunes of Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Ispica and Santa Croce Camerina. The third day of “Baroque Heritage,” following the study focuses held in Ragusa and Modica, after institutional speeches by Mayor Mario Marino and Salvatore Occhipinti director of the GAL Terra Barocca, was attended by numerous experts in cultural heritage, art and the enhancement of historical assets.
At the conclusion of the event, with a final speech that became almost a lectio magistralis, Director Greco offered his own perspective while also illustrating what has been done in the museum he directs and which, with a series of targeted projects, continues to foster the dissemination of knowledge.
On the day, curated by professors Antonio Barone and Santo Burgio of the University of Catania and moderated by lecturer Lucia Trigilia, the various experts dwelt on the idea of enhancing cultural heritage, some of which has already become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Topics included conservation for the enjoyment of cultural heritage, sustainability and integrated enhancement of cultural heritage, strategic planning, and training for specialized professionals in the field.
In particular, lecturer Pierpaolo Forte (University of Sannio) stressed the importance of considering cultural heritage not only as objects, but as subjects that can be protagonists and actors in social life. He highlighted the need for negotiating capacity between public and private actors to generate resources through tools such as partnership or through the involvement of third sector entities such as associations, cooperatives and foundations.
Prof. Pietro Valentino (University of Studies “La Sapienza,” Rome) who was responsible for drafting the Val di Noto management plan more than 20 years ago, remarked on the need for strategic planning of cultural heritages, proposing an integrated enhancement of cultural heritage through the coordination of all management plans in the area.
Prof. Antonio Barone emphasized the importance of resources for cultural heritage management and envisioned a kind of supra-regional body for the Mezzogiorno that would work to support local governments and universities.
From Prof. Pierluigi Catalfo (University of Catania) remarked on the need for the equitable distribution of tourism and sustainable routes that can increasingly involve the younger generations. Lecturer Loredana Giani (European University of Rome) highlighted the importance of cultural sites as a tool for growth. He emphasized the importance of digitization as a tool for enhancing cultural heritage but pursuing a well-defined development model that does not stop, for example, at simply scanning paper documents. Instead, Professor Anna Mignosa (University of Catania) spoke about sustainability and the circular economy model for the reuse of cultural heritage. Needed are the interaction of cultural, social, economic and environmental values and the training of specialized professionals in the field. Interesting was the excursus made, between lights and shadows, on the city of Scicli, by historian Paolo Nifosì who, however, denounced the late response time of the Region’s Cultural Heritage Department as well as the impossibility of being able to count on the opening of some historical archives because of the shortage of people. Finally, the highly anticipated talk by Christian Greco, who presented a model of a museum that is both research-based and participatory at the same time, one that questions the community and integrates itself into society. He emphasized the importance of communication and social inclusion including through events, initiatives, concerts, and even private appointments. According to Greco, society without memory has no future, and cultural heritage must be enhanced as a tool for collective knowledge and growth. Museums, with their showcases, cannot continue to be something dusty but central players in a new way of storytelling, made up of experiences, digital inserts, and research. Just as it is done at the Egyptian Museum in Turin where, thanks in part to the advent of modern technology, it has been possible to discover that sarcophagi were used multiple times and not just once, as had always been rumored.
Thanks to “Baroque Heritage,” it was possible to offer an important moment of discussion and reflection on the cultural heritage of the Baroque Land by looking at the active and sustainable management of cultural heritage in the “new” 20 years after the first 20 since Unesco recognition.
May 7, 2023
Activities carried out under the Rural Development Program 2014-2020 – Measure 19 “Support for leading local development,” submeasure 19.2 P.O. 2/2020
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