Rock, Paper, Chisels: The Problem of Heritage Abundance in Italy

What is inherited in cultural heritage? This question drives much of the current scholarship on cultural heritage. The answer typically stresses the complex meanings of a given site or object of "heritage," with emphasis on such sites' or objects' scarcity. What this approach overlooks, however, is the problem of too much of a good thing. How do nation-states deal with an abundance of cultural heritage? Why are some monuments and sites allowed to deteriorate while others receive conservation protection? Concentrating on Italy in the late 20th century, this paper offers a critical discussion of the politics of cultural heritage including controversial partnerships between the state government and private corporations. Since 1909, Italian cultural law has been structured in such a way that there are now millions of objects, monuments, and sites considered national cultural property. They cannot all be considered cultural heritage objects, however, because "heritage" would thereby become diffuse, bloated, and unfocused. By concentrating on the politics of cultural heritage obsolescence and planned destruction, I offer new insights into the mutability of heritage and the material dynamism of objects and sites.