95696 - History of Cultural Heritage in Contemporary Italy

Learning outcomes

This course aims to give students tools for analyzing and understanding the importance of cultural heritage, its promotion, and the political control it wields in contemporary Italy. Throughout the semester, we will study the public and parliamentary debates that have shaped institutional and legislative organizations in the field of cultural conservation. The chronological arc will span the initial decades following Italian unification to the creation of an autonomous ministry in 1974, thereby exploring the practices and initiatives implemented by liberal, fascist, and republican governments. By the end of the course, students will be able to explain the evolution in the relationship between politics and cultural heritage over time and discuss that relationship within its European context. Students will also have a good grasp of the main texts written on this subject and will be able to apply historiographic methods of analysis to the study of the protection and safeguarding of their cultural and environmental heritage

Course contents

The course will examine the origins of the definitions of “cultural heritage” and “environmental heritage” and their protection, beginning with an overview of what these concepts have meant from ancient times to the present day. Following this introductory phase, the course will delve into the history of initiatives undertaken after Italian unification, up to the contemporary era—a period crucial for analyzing the legislative foundations established in the field of cultural and environmental heritage protection. After examining liberal Italy, the course will address the Fascist era and the highly politicized use of cultural heritage, leading up to the enactment of the Bottai Law of 1939. Finally, the course will address issues related to the Italian Republic, specifically how the protection and promotion of cultural heritage were addressed by the framers of the Constitution after World War II, leading up to the debate that began in the 1960s and culminated in the establishment of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage in the 1970s.

Readings/Bibliography

Students attending the course will be required to study the lecture notes and one book of their choice from the following:

 

A. Ragusa, *The Origins of the Contemporary State: Policies for the Management of Cultural and Environmental Heritage between the 19th and 20th Centuries*, Milan, FrancoAngeli, 2011.

 

S. Settis, Landscape, Constitution and Concrete: The Battle for the Environment against Civil Degradation, Turin, Einaudi, 2010.

 

G. Turi, Books and Readers in Republican Italy, Rome, Carocci, 2018.

 

A. Varni (ed.), In Defence of a National Heritage, Ravenna, Longo, 2002.

 

Non-attending students must study two books chosen from those listed above.

Teaching methods

lectures

Assessment methods

The examination is oral and assesses basic knowledge, with a focus on the student’s ability to understand the issues addressed during the lectures; it will assess knowledge of the subject’s historical development, the ability to place the topics studied in their proper context, and to discuss them critically. Account will also be taken of the quality of oral expression and the ability to construct a logical and reasoned argument.

 

The final assessment will be based on the following criteria:

 

- fail: lack of basic knowledge and inability to provide a correct interpretation of the texts and/or issues -

 

- pass: possession of basic knowledge; interpretation that is largely correct, but carried out imprecisely and with little independence.

 

- good: possession of intermediate-level knowledge; interpretation that is entirely correct, but not always precise or independent.

 

- excellent mark: possession of advanced knowledge; interpretation of problems that is not only correct but also carried out independently and precisely. Excellent oral expression skills.

 

 

Translated with DeepL.com [https://www.deepl.com/?utm_campaign=product&utm_source=web_translator&utm_medium=web&utm_content=copy_free_translation] (free version)

Teaching tools

Slides containing images and reproductions of source material will be used to support classroom work.

 

 

 

Students with specific learning difficulties (SLD) or temporary or permanent disabilities: please contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it) in good time: the office will be responsible for proposing any necessary adjustments to the students concerned; these must, however, be submitted for the lecturer’s approval 15 days in advance, and the lecturer will assess their suitability, taking into account the course’s learning objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Alberto Malfitano