Patrimonio culturale e cooperazione internazionale

[Machine translation] Cultural heritage (often the debate refers to the English definition of cultural heritage) can be considered a mirror of the evolution of the prevailing approaches in international development cooperation, as well as of the different types of cooperation. In fact, it was initially the subject of bi- and multi-lateral technical assistance and financial aid (aid) initiatives by entities, governmental and not, located in the richest countries from an economic point of view, which were gradually accompanied by strategies for the enhancement of cultural heritage to promote economic and human development, up to the current debate on the need for a critical and post-colonial view of cultural heritage and its protection. , Through the reconstruction of the main historical phases that have seen cultural heritage at the center of international cooperation initiatives and the framework of the main actors involved at different scales, the chapter focuses in particular on: a) initiatives directly aimed at safeguarding cultural heritage (mobile and immovable, material and intangible); b) strategies and projects that consider cultural heritage as an area of intervention to promote wider processes of socio-economic development and empowerment of communities involved, according to what has been defined as culture-development nexus.