I Partner del Progetto

• Centro Internazionale Città d’Acqua

• Universidad de Valladolid
Instituto Español de Arquitectura

• Universiteit Gent
Facultet der Toegepaste
Wetenschappen Vakgroep
Architectuur & Stedebow

• Comune di Venezia
• Istituto Universitario di Architettura
di Venezia - IUAV
Cattedra di Restauro
Architettonico A

• Politechniki Krakowskiej
Wydzial Architektury

• Technical University of Budapest
Faculty of Architecture

The Charter for the conservation and restoration of the built heritage, the KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER was signed on 26 October in Kraków at the end of the international conference entitled “Cultural Heritage as Foundation of Development Civilisation”. The initiative, promoted by the Polytechnic of Krakow with the support of ICOMOS, is the result of joint work by universities from all over Europe.
In the spirit of the ‘64 Venice Charter and confirming its basic principles, this document is directed at the various cultures that have played a leading role in the process of European unification, indicating the principles to be pursued in safeguarding the heritage, while observing the diversity of values of which it is an expression.
The KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER is the result of three years of research and confrontation during which the problem of protecting the heritage was tackled in all its aspects with a multi-disciplinary approach. To this end, 25 preliminary meetings were held in various European cities.
The document was signed by over 300 participants in the conference, which saw the contribution of 120 speakers: scholars coming from European institutes and universities and from non-European countries which are particularly interested in the problems of conservation and restoration (America, Canada, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, China and South Korea), as well as representatives of ICOMOS, ICCROM and UNESCO.
The preliminary discussions on the draft document, presented by Giuseppe Cristinelli, Jukka Jokilehto and Andrzej Kadluckza, saw the participation among others of Michael Petzet, General Chairman of ICOMOS, Emma Mandelli, Faculty of Architecture of Florence, Jacek Czubnsky and Jolanta Sroczynska, Faculty of Architecture of Krakow, Andrea Benedetti and Vittorio Foramitti, University Institute of Architecture of Venice, Roko Zardnic, Faculty of Architecture of Ljubljana, Krzysztof Pawlowsky, Chairman of ICOMOS of Poland, Ray Bondin, Chairman of ICOMOS of Malta, J. Louis Taupin, Chief Architect of Paris, Joseph Cannataci, National Centre for restoration of Malta.
The KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER was drawn up by the Editorial Committee (Andrzej Kadluckza, Giuseppe Cristinelli, Mihaly Zador), the Chairmen’s Committee (Giuseppe Cristinelli, Sherban Cantacuzino, Javier Rivera Blanco, Jacek Purchla, J. Louis Luxen, Tatiana Kirova, Zbigniew Kobylinski, Andrzej Kadluczka, André De Naeyer, Tamas Fejerdy, Salvador Perrez Arroyo, Andrzej Michalowski, Robert de Jong, Mihály Zádor, Manfred Wehdorn, Ireneusz Pluska, Jan Schubert, Mario Docci, Herb Stovel) as well as by Jukka Jokilehto, Ingval Maxwell, Alessandra Melucco.
The meeting unanimously approved the document.

VENEZIA

La presentazione di Carta Cracovia 2000 all'Ateneo Veneto

Venice University, prestigious Venetian cultural institution, was host to the presentation of the KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER on 15 February last.
The following actively participated: Giuseppe Cristinelli, Deputy-Chairman of the 2000 Krakow Committee, Marino Folin, Rector of the University Institute of Architecture of Venice, Roberto Cecchi, Head of the Environmental and Architectural Service of Venice, Manfred Wehdorn, full professor of restoration at the Technische Universität of Vienna and Chairman of the 7th section of the Krakow Conference. The following presented the initiative: Mara Rumiz, Chairman of the Town Council of Venice, Akatsuki Takahashi, UNESCO Venice Office, Rinio Bruttomesso, Director of the Centro Città d’Acqua, Nedo Fiorentin, Deputy-Chairman of Venice University, made the introduction.
After the report by Giuseppe Cristinelli, who outlined the work accomplished as a whole by the Committee and the basic principles that inspired the Charter, Marino Folin emphasised the importance of a new accepted meaning of the concept of ‘time’ in the document compared with the ’64 Venice Charter.
Time, which unites heritage in a single event, seen as a result of all its transformations and the life of man, and therefore shifts the references of conservation from the sphere of abstract principles to one concerned with human existence. Besides this feeling of time, Folin pointed out, among the various contents of the Charter, the conception of ‘conservation’ as a choice.
Manfred Whedorn indicated Venice as an example of a city understood as a total work of art and therefore referred to the inseparable unity between nature and built heritage, where both are essential moments of the quality of life.
Roberto Cecchi underlined the delicacy of the problem of conserving materials as support to possible means of understanding, giving as an example the value of common serial building – a significant element also because it serves as urban framework.
Among the opening speeches, Mara Rumiz commented upon the important participation of the Municipality of Venice in support of the 2000 Krakow Charter; this support has been vital for the success of the initiative as a whole.
Akatsuki Takahashi, bringing the greetings of the UNESCO Venice Office, expressed the hope that the new Charter would be suitably circulated in order to contribute to the conservation of the built heritage as recognition of the cultural identities of peoples .

UNIVERSITA' DI SALAMANCA

Il Corso di Specializzazione di Carta Cracovia 2000

From 21 to 24 January, the University of Salamanca, one of the oldest in Europe, organised a specialisation course in ‘evaluation and management of the architectural heritage, presided over by José Ramón Nieto, professor of the history of architecture.
The lectures were held by Giuseppe Cristinelli, who dealt with the topic of conservation and restoration from a theoretical, design, technological and application point of view. The Provincial Administration of Salamanca also organised a conference of presentation of the KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER, during which Giuseppe Cristinelli illustrated the contents of the document. Many people attended the conference, which also saw the participation of Javier Rivera Blanco, and a lively debate ensued. The topics dealt with in the final debate included in particular themes regarding: the impact of tourism on the heritage (giving as an example cases such as Mont Saint Michel, Venice and Florence); the delicate problem of the relationship between the original spirit of the ecclesiastical heritage and renovation work aimed at new functions; the particular difficulty of working on the archaeological heritage, which requires insightful, minimal conservative work; the renovation of modern architecture; the need to maintain and conserve the interiors of dwellings.

UNIVERSITA' DI GENT

La conferenza internazionale

In conclusion of the European Project activities, on 3 February an international conference was held in Gent organised by the Department of architecture and town planning of the University of Gent and presided over by André De Naeyer.
Many scholars coming from Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Poland as well as those responsible for protecting the heritage in Belgium and representatives of ICOMOS took part in the conference.
The main purpose of the meeting was to present the KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER in an in-depth, full manner in order to widen the debate on the themes dealt with in the work carried out in the preparatory stage and during the drawing up of the document.
The progress represented by the KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER was critically assessed in the first part of the conference. The second part dealt with the problems and opportunities deriving from new uses and the impact of modern architecture on historical buildings.
“At the time of the “Venice Charter – 1964” the problem was quite clear, since monuments were considered elitist buildings to be restored or conserved in observance of an historical image and the changes were limited to highly restricted operations. Today, apart from certain exceptional buildings, historical buildings are “interpreted” in observance of the more updated standard, whether from an architectural, aesthetic and technological viewpoint or for all that regards comfort and safety. One talks in these cases about “architectural restoration” because the impact of architectural criteria is obvious. If this way of interpreting buildings can on the one hand seem the natural consequence of the evolution of the times, on the other hand, the conservation of our heritage should try to preserve (and restore where necessary and possible) the identity of the historical and cultural document, keeping it as authentic as possible for as long as possible.
What attitude does modern ‘conservation’ show when faced with architectural interpretations that often considerably modify the identity of the buildings? To what extent are modern “re-styling” and “re-functioning” acceptable? Is the “conservation of architectural property” used as a true tool for creating a better environment or is it just the exclusive interest of a few? The modern practice of restoration should manage to give an answer that represents the summing up of the evaluations and the requirements of the interdisciplinary parties concerned, formed by architects, historians, archaeologists, technicians and end users.
The conference has been an occasion for lively discussions on the orthodoxy of restoration and has shown that the KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER is useful and necessary and has made a fundamental contribution to the conservation and restoration of the architectural heritage"
(André DE NAEYER)

TRIESTE

La presentazione di Carta Cracovia 2000 al Museo Revoltella

At the Revoltella Museum in Trieste, on 11 May, the Istituto Italiano dei Castelli (Italian Institute of Castles) - Friuli Venezia Giulia Section, is presenting the KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER together with the Associazione Italia Nostra and the Revoltella Museum.
The following will be present: Giuseppe Cristinelli, Jukka Jokilehto, Andrea Benedetti, Vittorio Foramitti, as well as the head of the architectural heritage service of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Franco Bocchieri. The meeting has been organised thanks to the contribution of the Autonomous Region Friuli Venezia Giulia.

PUBBLICAZIONI

Thanks to the European project, the proceedings of the meetings held within the scope of the preparatory work of the section of the Conference dedicated to Theory, general principles, methods and terminology, have been published:

• “IL restauro fra identità e autenticità. Atti della tavola rotonda I Principi fondativi del restauro architettonico, Venezia, gennaio-febbraio 1999 (with English text) edited by Giuseppe Cristinelli and Vittorio Foramitti.
Marsilio Editori - Venice, October 2000

• “Principios de la restauración en la nueva Europa. Conferencia Internacional Krakow 2000” edited by Javier Rivera Blanco.
Edizione: Fundación Patrimonio Historico de Castilla y Leon - Valladolid, October 2000

The KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER will shortly be the subject-matter of an official publication, edited by Giuseppe Cristinelli and sponsored by the European Community, which will give the entire text in English and in the Italian, Spanish, French and German versions.
A similar initiative is being developed in Krakow, edited by Andrzei Kadluczka, where the Charter will be published in addition to the official version in English, in Polish, Russian, Hungarian and Czech.

RIVISTE

Redazione Centro Internazionale Città d'Acqua San Marco 4149 30124 Venezia, Italia tel. +39 041 5230428 fax +39 041 5286103
e-mail: citiesonwater@iuav.it http://www.iuav.it/citiesonwater/

• Thanks to the contribution of the Municipality of Venice, within the sphere of the European project, the KRAKÓW 2000 CHARTER was published in the January issue of Il Giornale dell’Arte - Edizioni Allemandi and in the editions connected with it: The Art Newspaper, Le Journal des Arts, El Periodico del Arte, Ta Nea tis Technis.

•The full text of the Charter has been published in the special issue dedicated to Krakow and to the Conference on conservation by the magazine Trieste Contemporanea No. 6/7 2000