Time as a Key Factor in the Preservation of Built Heritage

Though often not considered as a concept in its own right, time can be regarded as a key factor for the preservation of the built heritage. Time can be taken into account as an implicit and discriminating factor, projecting itself onto the building and imbuing three aspects of its conservation: there is a relationship between the historical evolution of the concept of restoration and a change in the perception of time; the relationship between sense of time and the development of the building through time is likewise significant; thus a temporal approach to ancient buildings leads to a pluralistic attitude toward their physical decay. For example, assuming time to be a dimension of a building alters the concepts of both entirety and decay. An increasingly nuanced contemporary perception of time is supposed to enhance critical thinking about preservation, but this requires a more clearly articulated idea of intervention, and a many-sided approach that combines reason and emotions. Deliberately including a recognition of the passage of time within a preservation programme requires significant effort to reconcile technical aspects and perception, enhancing the idea of conservation interventions as never-ending interpretation, and suggesting further ways of appreciating built heritage. The discussion is centred around attitudes to monuments in Italy but the approach is relevant internationally.