Restoration and Management of World Heritage Christian Cultural Sites: Problems of Religious Tourism - Challenges - Perspectives

Taking under consideration the exceptional value and unique religious and cultural significance of the Old City of Jerusalem, as well as that since 1981 the "Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls" are inscribed on the World Heritage List, is worth a discussion on the linkages between the World Heritage Convention and the heritage of Christian religious interest (with special reference to those connected with the image of the "New Jerusalem"): whether doctrinal texts and principles are capable to be applied in practice and in the local context of individual examples, identifying our interest on specific issues, such as: the definition, acceptance and interpretation of associated spiritual values of the past in the modern world, the question about the meaning and the limits of restoration and reconstruction, particularly in relation to the notions of authenticity and integrity, the research of the problems in the field of sustainable development (religious tourism, pilgrimage etc.), and the role of the religious community in the management of the World Heritage property.