The 28th National Convention of the Fai-Fondo for the Italian Environment: Preserving Heritage through Storytelling

"Preserving the heritage, by telling its story" is the title of the 28th National Convention organized by the Fai-Fondo for the Italian Environment in Naples, at the Bellini Theater, on February 24th from 9 am to 1 pm, aimed at its Delegates and Volunteers coming from all over Italy. As every year, the meeting between the Fai and its territorial network will also be an opportunity to reflect on a theme of vision and management of cultural heritage, starting from the direct experience of the Foundation. On the stage, in addition to the Fai authorities - the President Marco Magnifico, the Deputy Director General for Cultural Affairs Daniela Bruno, the Fai Campania President Michele Pontecorvo - the Mayor of Naples Gaetano Manfredi and the Councilor for Tourism of Campania Felice Casucci. A video message from the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano will open the works. On the stage, there will also be some of the most eminent personalities from the Italian cultural scene, among these: the archaeologist Andrea Carandini, the gallery owner Lia Rumma, the Director of the Museum and Real Bosco di Capodimonte Eike Schmidt, the Director of the archaeological excavations of Pompeii Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the constitutionalist Michele Ainis, the former parish priest of the Basilica of Santa Maria and San Severo del Rione Sanità Don Antonio Loffredo together with Vincenzo Porzio, one of the founding members of the Social Cooperative La Paranza - The Catacombs of Naples - both on the front line in the fight for the redemption of the Neapolitan suburbs - Michelangelo Russo, Director of the Department of Architecture - University of Naples Federico II, the writers Marco Balzano and Alessandro Mari, the journalist Gianna Fregonara and others. The theme is the enhancement of heritage, which in Fai's interpretation does not concern economic value, but consists in identifying and telling the public the cultural value of the goods: that immaterial heritage, unique and original, of identity and meaning, which resides in their history intertwined with nature, and in the many stories they can tell, which teach, inspire and sometimes even move. If this value will be understood and appreciated, recognized by more and more citizens, the heritage will be protected with the contribution of everyone, as is in the mission of Fai and in the spirit of article 9 of the Constitution on which it is based. It protects what is known, in fact, and whose value is recognized. The enhancement, therefore, is a cultural activity, but with a strong social mission: the education of citizens. It tends, in fact, to the general development of culture, which in turn generates the development of skills, talents and also businesses, with concrete, sometimes unexpected, repercussions on the social fabric and on the local economy; and aims at promoting a more widespread culture of protection and care of a heritage that belongs to everyone. How to identify the cultural value of the goods and tell it to the public? In almost fifty years of activity, with now 72 goods managed throughout Italy by a structure of almost 400 professionals and thousands of volunteers who in every region implement and promote its mission, the Fai has gained experience in the field, which in this convention explains and shares, ready to gather new visions and useful ideas for the future. The "narration" is the cornerstone of cultural enhancement: to tell, however, you must first of all be masters of the matter, hence the activity of systematic and multidisciplinary study and research promoted by Fai on its goods; research is followed by narration, to be experimented with ever different tools, accessible to everyone, in original and increasingly attractive forms, and which does not only take place in words, but also through things: through restorations, rearrangements and maintenance, because basically every activity in a cultural asset can be an opportunity for a story, that is, for cultural enhancement. A path that of enhancement in continuous evolution. "It is now absolutely clear to us that the restoration of an architectural or landscape monument is not already the end but only the first, fundamental, very delicate means to allow the realization of our mission: educational, social and cultural. Our approach has therefore changed, evolving towards a service not only to stones but also to souls, telling the many stories contained in our cultural heritage and thereby enhancing it from the first moments of its recovery", says Marco Magnifico, President Fai. The cultural, educational and social mission of enhancement is therefore at the center of this convention, which Fai has conceived in the form of three themed dialogues with authoritative guests from the world of culture, with a section specifically dedicated to Naples. The city, and the prestigious venue in which it takes place, the Bellini Theater, is also dedicated to the introduction of the convention: the musical interlude by Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801), the Maestro di cappella, performed by Maurizio Bove with the Ensemble of the Master of Ancient Music of the San Pietro a Majella di Napoli Music Conservatory.