The IX International Forum of Studies titled S.A.V.E. Heritage aims to create an international discussion on the local experiences for the preservation of cultural, architectural, archaeological, landscape and environmental heritage.

The Camapania region in Italy is an ideal laboratory for this Forum due to the presence of five World Heritage properties, representing different typologies, from the cultural heritage and landscape of Caserta to the Historical Centre of Naples, the archaeological ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata, the cultural landscape of the Amalfi coast and the National park of Cilento, with Velia and Paestum and the Chartreuse of Padula.

In the current era characterized by the economy of knowledge, the cultural identity of places has a greater value than that related to the tourism industry, because this is an indispensable asset in the educational process to maximize human capital and to make competitive and attractive the territory.

The identity of places is the result of our memories, traditions and ancient knowledge, as well as material evidence of the past that have shaped the physical form. To preserve the historical continuity in order to ensure to the men a better living environment, must be created a balance between the spaces of past and present needs, offering innovative solutions to meet the different requirements in terms of sustainability.

The historical centres, monuments, even degraded landscapes, form the raw material of our investigation, the hardware on which the though and integration of competences act as a software to develop a repertoire of appropriate solutions to return those areas to the community through an action of regenerative protection. Thus, the comparison is essential to share good examples of international protection and management of monuments, sites and historic environment, in which conservation and development coexist in positive models and can be exported to other contexts.

The conference is open to multi-disciplinary experiences on the issue of preserving cultural heritage in its broadest sense. Scholars are invited to submit research on theoretical and methodological aspects related to knowledge, representation, preservation, protection, security, communication, use of cultural heritage in its tangible and intangible components, and show real applications and experiences carried out on these themes.

The results of the Forum will be broadly spread through an international publication and on the websites of the organizer institutions and international organizations. The Forum is open to media, decision makers, political representatives, freelances and practitioners in the field of heritage preservation and management, academic community and students.

Carmine Gambardella