50 Years After the World Heritage Convention. An analysis of the evolution of the concepts of Monuments and Authenticity

Abstract

As part of the curricular internship activity carried out at the University of Bologna for the master's degree program Engineering of Building Processes and Systems, curriculum Historic Building Rehabilitation under the guidance of Professors Alessia Zampini and Leila Signorelli, it was possible to analyze the concepts of authenticity and monuments. The goal was to analyze how these concepts were interpreted for nine historic centers belonging to the UNESCO World Heritage List: Lyon, Provins, and Albi; Florence, Pienza and Urbino; Cordoba, Toledo e Ávila. The analysis revealed that the historic centers represent the development of a multitude of concepts of authenticities and monuments that can ultimately be assimilated into a single entity. Despite their geographical expansion several projects allowed historic centers to preserve their distinctive features, while maintaining the values of authenticity and outstanding universal value throughout the centuries.