The Role of Heritage Communities in Local Development Processes through the reuse of Architectural Heritage. Some Examples in Italian Rural Areas

Over the last three decades, various initiatives promoted by the European Union concerning the involvement and empowerment of communities in recognising and creating cultural values have flourished. They include, for instance, the Faro Convention, programs for ecomuseums and community mapping, and have contributed to giving voice to bottom-up initiatives for enhancing not only so-called monumental architecture but also "ordinary" architecture and built and vernacular cultural heritage. In general, this approach has also contributed to focusing attention on the importance of local communities in local development processes. In Italy, the so-called inner areas are often characterised by ordinary and vernacular heritage related to rural or manufacturing activities. In these small villages, some local communities, also thanks to the Italian National Strategy for Inner Areas, recognised reuse of part of the vernacular local built heritage as a strength for the community itself and the broader context. Some cases have demonstrated that valorisation of architectural heritage is possible without creating tourism-related facilities only (hotels, museums, etc.) but also creating services needed by "local" users that facilitate the everyday life of the place. In this perspective, attention should also be focused on heritage education and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, which should involve the entire community at different levels, starting from experiences already in place in similar contexts. In this sense, a community can be intended as a broad concept, a constantly evolving process that includes the resident citizens and a broader network related to a specific territory. Through analyses of case studies, this contribution aims to propose reflections on the role of heritage community experiences in empowering vernacular architectural heritage and its wider context.