The Limit and the Poetics of Wonder

Abstract

This article reconsiders the notion of limits not as a mere regulatory constraint but as an ethical, cultural and political principle for the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage. In a context shaped by globalisation, digitisation and the growing commodification of cultural assets, the limit is proposed as a means of reconciling conservation, public access and the intergenerational transmission of heritage. Drawing on the Council of Europe’s Faro Convention, the study foregrounds heritage communities as active agents in the construction of meaning, in democratic participation and in safeguarding practices. Particular attention is paid to the “poetics of wonder”, understood as a cognitive and civic disposition capable of turning heritage from an object of conservation into a shared experience of memory, identity and collective responsibility. The experience of the Apulia Region, and in particular its strategic project Cura dei Luoghi, delle Arti e dei Saperi identitari della Puglia (Care of Places, Arts and Identity-Based Knowledge in Apulia), is examined as a case study of participatory governance grounded in collaboration between institutions and local communities. The article concludes that only a culture of limits, participation and sustainability can safeguard cultural heritage as a common good and a generative resource for future generations.

Keywords: HERITAGE COMMUNITIES, FARO CONVENTION, PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE, CULTURAL WELFARE, CULTURAL HERITAGE TRANSMISSION

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