The Rione Sanità and Fontanelle Cemetery: A Model for Cultural, Economic, and Social Enhancement

The presentation of the work carried out in the Rione Sanità falls within the research stream aimed at deepening the potential desirable role of communities in the processes of enhancing our cultural heritage. The Sanità is a virtuous example that in recent years has imposed itself on the attention of scholars of urban planning, history and restoration, and economics, as a model for the cultural, economic, and social enhancement of territories, with the National Research Council (CNR) ready to do its part. Thus spoke Massimo Clemente, director of CNR-Iriss during the presentation of the book "The Rione Sanità and the Fontanelle Cemetery - a living laboratory" edited by Giuseppe Pace, which took place in the conference room of the CNR's humanities pole in Naples. The importance of the work carried out was emphasized by Alessandro Castagnaro, Professor of History of Architecture at Federico II University of Naples and President of the Technical-Scientific Committee for the drafting of the new Management Plan of the Historic Center of Naples - UNESCO World Heritage: "Working in the Sanità and in the Fontanelle Cemetery takes on a fundamental value from the perspective of the UNESCO Historic Center. This area, with its stratification, is not only the oldest part but also an important part in the structuring of a district that was a connection before being isolated with subsequent urban works. The knowledge and enhancement of this treasure fully falls within the mission as it includes all the material and immaterial values of the district." For the book's curator, Giuseppe Pace, a researcher at CNR-Iriss, "it is an experience of shared management of an asset between the local community and the Municipality of Naples realized through a series of meetings, with the support also of external experts, to define shared guidelines for the management of the Fontanelle Cemetery. This is a preliminary phase for what will happen in the actual management of the asset. The most important factor was to combine the cultural heritage with the enhancement of the place and the community that lives it, which will preserve the asset with more attention and care; the second aspect to underline was that of bringing together the tourist aspect with the cultural and spiritual aspect that characterizes the Fontanelle Cemetery."