The Silvia Santagata Research Centre takes part in the national project for the drafting of the first “White Paper” on the historical cities of Italy, promoted by the National Association of the Historical/Artistics Centre (ANCSA). Founded in 1960, ANCSA has the goal to promote cultural and operative initiatives to support public administrations for the preservation and redevelopment of the historical centers of Italian cities.
The economical crisis and its dynamics have resulted in different patterns for historical centers, not only the ones regarding the promotion. For example: functional tourism for cities of art, depopulation of the central areas and marginalization with a specific amount of foreign people in few medium cities, abandon and inagibility of huge areas of heritage, less “urbanization”, are just few negative dynamics we should operate for. Also because the future has a challenge set aside for us, at international and national level, based on cities, a challenge that will result in winning cities, losing ones, cities that promote development and cities that move back.
The task of the project, supported by Compagnia di San Paolo, is to create a survey on the cultural production that has arisen in recent years in the historical centers of Turin and Genoa and in other significant case studies in Piedmont and Liguria. More cities like Bari, Bergamo, Bologna, Florence, Milan, Palermo, Perugia, Rome and Venice are also part of the study, which aims to promote policies and actions for a new centrality of the historical cities in the regional and national polices.
The White Paper is drafted also by regional units of the National Association of the Historical/Artistics Centre (ANCSA), by the Research Centre for the Economical and Social market of the construction industry (CRESME), by members of Universities and by members of those local administrations connected to this project.