Francesca Geremia

Università Degli Studi Roma Tre | UNIROMA3 · Department of Architecture

Heritage is a great term which uses the past to represent the tangible and intangible socio-cultural expressions in the present time developing a future vision and pausing the modernization or globalization wave against the cultural identity [Outstanding Values] of the autonomous/indigenous/local communities. Using the former concept, the research seeks to fill the gap between the main structure of heritage marketing process and the augmentation level of the site, museum, or city image “Branding”. It links strategically between the rural, urban, or cultural landscapes “overall”, the key site stakeholders, the community, and the visitors. Therefore, the heritage site might become psychologically one of the priorities of a community and the visitors as well, experiencing culturally their (lifelong learning or short-term) memories via the edutainment activities and indirectly preserving the cultural identity as a source of socio-economic development. The research adopts grounded theory as a research methodology in an interpretive-constructivism paradigm. I used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In addition to some international case studies, the investigation of the research is based on two empirical cases studies in Viterbo province (Italy): firstly, the Cultural Landscape of Civita di Bagnoregio; and secondly, Farnese Palace in Caprarola – Villas of the Papal Nobility (Tentative Italian UNESCO World Heritage Sites). Overall, the research targets the qualitative methods of urban development and the urban identity preservation policies sustaining the [local] cultural identity of the communities as a representative of the cultural heritage and the main generator of the future heritage. Contributing to the future heritage industry, the research contributes to the heritage preservation-based definition of the “Cultural Identity” concept valorizing the values of cultural diversity in the same demographic area, thus the authorities might generate socio-economic opportunities, especially for the youth generation, enhancing the level of stewardship or in another word “the sense of the place”. Thus, they become so motivated to generate an innovative business in relation to their culture and heritage. In addition, the research develops a People-centered Heritage Branding Approach that mainly invests the manifestations of the cultural identity to create a sustainable brand image and to emancipate the level of community involvement. Thus, the research generates a group of tools that provides the updated socio-economic requirements of the communities and at the same time, mitigates socially the rapid modification and deterioration in their cultural knowledge. Based on EU Horizon 2020 Project Be.CulTour, the research supports strategically the community-centered cultural tourism process by operationalizing a strategic dynamic partnership among mainly three partners: people or the host community, the public sector, and the private sector. Subsequently, it develops a People-Public-Private Partnership as a circular/participatory business model (a corporate entity) to recognize the modern and contemporary interactions of the heritage community.