Re.LIGHT | Lights on Cultural Heritage Guided “rediscovery” of Cultural Heritage in the historic centre of Salerno

The CLIC team, in collaboration with associations and companies of the Salerno area, has organized the event Re.LIGHT | Lights on Cultural Heritage consisting in a “heritage walk”, an alternative guided tour within Luci d’ Artista 2019/2020 to rediscover and light up the abandoned, underused and reused  historical-cultural places, for too long “darkened” in the consciousness of the citizens of Salerno, “bringing to light” the experiences of reuse and enhancement of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage that have started-up ‘culture-led’ urban regeneration processes.

The event took place on 3rd January 2020 from 16:00 to 19:00, with the guide of Erchemperto association and the collaboration of the startup Tripmetoo, Il Centro Storico association, BLAM collective, Club di Territorio Salerno, Pro Loco Salerno Città Visibile, Hostel Ave Gratia Plena – Stargate srl, ARCAN association.

The visit was made available in Sign Language, thanks to the precious support of the Italian Deaf Association and to the collaboration of TripMeToo.

The itinerary started from the Annunziata and Santa Trofimena Churches, passing through the Giardino della Minerva, Santa Maria de Alimundo, Palazzo San Massimo, Monte dei Morti Church (“Morticelli”), Santa Maria de Lama church, Ave Grazia Plena Hostel, San Pietro a Corte Historical complex, Palazzo Fruscione.

Historical and cultural values, successful experiences and ongoing projects to transform abandoned places into new “beating hearts” of cultural and social life in Salerno were told through the experience of those who daily work to enhance the city’s heritage.

About 70 participants took part in the guided tour, showing once again the enthusiastic engagement of the local community. The presence of a very active Heritage Community in Salerno has already led to the CLIC permanent Lab, hosted by Giardino della Minerva, where on Mondays citizens and local stakeholders can suggest their ideas and proposals to contribute to the reactivation of underused and abandoned buildings, sites and cultural landscapes.

The initiative for a guided tour of “rediscovery” of cultural heritage within Luci d’ Artista 2019/2020 came from the first cultural mapping of abandoned and underused assets in the city of Salerno.

The itinerary was aimed primarily at residents who wish to rediscover the city’s treasures from a “design” perspective, such as Palazzo San Massimo or Santa Maria de Alimundo; to look from a new perspective (as “best practices”) the identity places, already well known, as Giardino della Minerva, Santa Maria de Lama, the Hostel Ave Gratia Plena; to get information on the community engagement initiatives that take place daily at the Church of the Monte dei Morti (“Morticelli”).

These successful experiences in Salerno prove how participatory governance can activate processes of regeneration and enhancement of the territory’s identity assets that can be transferred, with appropriate adjustments and reflections, also to other abandoned and underused goods, showing how the CLIC project is intervening for the reuse of cultural heritage in the perspective of circular economy through the Heritage Innovation Partnerships.

The event has been included in the Local Action Plan, precisely within the specific action “Visiting itineraries of disused and abandoned assets – “Luci d´Artista 2019-2020”, responding to the objective 2.2. “Knowledge and communication of cultural heritage values through awareness-raising actions addressed to students, residents, visitors, also through the increase and diversification of cultural offer for residents and tourists (e.g. alternative tourist routes/itineraries, ongoing cultural initiatives and events, initiatives of rediscovery of the abandoned cultural heritage)”. The initiative was coordinated by the research group of CNR- IRISS in collaboration with the Municipality of Salerno and a number of associations active in the area.

The initiative was conceived as an experiment to be broadened and replicated within the HIPs CLIC Open day, which will be held in Salerno in 2020. It can also be extended to areas outside the historic centre, such as Ogliara / Rufoli areas (ex Fornaci), for which the community has shown particular interest, proposing different actions to be included in the Local Action Plan.

The success of the event “Re.LIGHT | Lights on Cultural Heritage” has lead the CLIC team to plan a second guided tour. Stay tuned to register to the second Heritage Walk!

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