Cultural Policies of Safeguard of Traditional Heritage. The Sicilian Case

Abstract

The paper reconstructs an experience of cooperation between the University of Palermo and the Department of Cultural Heritage, Natural Heritage and Public Education of the Sicilian Regional Government, that took place at the end of 1970s. This experience is still regarded as a model of good practice based on the connection “culture and development” and focused on the recovery of traditional heritage. The author proposes an evaluation on short, medium and long-term effects on the Sicilian territory, dealing with notions such as memory and history, and discussing on the mechanism of objectivation of one’s own culture.