Speakers
Description
In recent decades, the role of cultural heritage has evolved, shifting from a passive object of protection to an active resource in territorial and urban regeneration processes. This evolution is evident in recent definitions, policies, and management practices that reflect an integrated vision of heritage—not merely as material inheritance but as a dynamic network of relationships involving communities, landscapes, and practices. Consequently, cultural heritage can serve as a strategic resource in orienting urban planning processes to address major contemporary challenges, such as climate change, social inequalities, and the crisis of the welfare system.
This contribution is part of the DiARC research project Strategies4Changes—developed within the Extended Partnership PE5 (PNRR Next-GUE)—which aims to define intervention strategies for cultural landscapes by applying theoretical research to the Campi Flegrei case study. This vast area represents an ideal laboratory for exploring the potential of heritage as a regenerative resource. The Campi Flegrei embody the characteristics of 'cultural landscapes', extending also to 'ordinary landscapes', not necessarily distinguished by exceptional historical or environmental values but by the stratification of human uses and transformations.
This vast area west of Naples is distinguished by an extraordinary concentration of historical and archaeological assets, extending far beyond the sites officially included within the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park. Many of these assets are compromised by uncontrolled urban expansion, illegal construction, and environmental risks, such as bradyseism. This results in a challenging coexistence between heritage and its surrounding context, as well as an inadequate understanding of the assets themselves, leading to disparities in management and accessibility. Not all cultural sites are included in tourism and preservation circuits, often remaining neglected as they are not properly surveyed.
Among the various 'figures' that heritage assumes in these territories, one of the most significant is expressed through the concept of “emerging archaeology.” This term refers to how archaeological remains interact with contemporary urban environments. Through this perspective, it is possible to reinterpret the stratification processes that have scattered the Campi Flegrei with fragments, hidden deposits, and large concentrations of heritage—whether protected or neglected, exposed or submerged, enclosed or encroached upon by unplanned urban expansion. In this framework, cultural landscapes reveal a dynamic coexistence of ancient ruins and newly emerging remnants, where historical layers intersect with evolving urban strata, continuously overlapping and reshaping one another.
The methodology adopted aimed to develop a detailed survey of archaeological assets within a GIS environment, creating a comprehensive knowledge base on their contextual conditions. This approach was designed to investigate their potential within socio-spatial regeneration processes and their coexistence with environmental and urban risks. Through the dynamic interaction between the GIS database, which spatializes heritage data and physical site conditions, and the photographic survey, the study examines and represents different modes of emergence, whether perceived or latent, through which heritage interacts with socio-spatial dynamics.
Constructing this knowledge framework represents a significant step forward for the Campi Flegrei, fostering deeper awareness of the scale and potential of its cultural heritage. It also serves as a foundation for integrated strategies, positioning heritage as a territorial infrastructure capable of promoting local welfare alongside innovative territorial policies.
This contribution explores regenerative scenarios in which cultural heritage plays a central role in: (1) developing new networks and alternative itineraries to mass tourism, enhancing accessibility and intermodality; (2) proposing multifunctional public spaces, conceived also as strategic areas for emergency management, such as assembly points and escape routes.
The study investigates strategies for reactivating heritage assets as spaces of interaction and shared use for local communities, contributing to the improvement of residents’ living conditions, territorial facilities, services, infrastructure, public spaces, and a redefined dimension of welfare.
References
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UNESCO (1992) Convenzione per il Patrimonio Mondiale
| Keywords | cultural heritage, emerging archeology, public spaces, urban regeneration, cultural landscapes |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
