From intangible to tangible heritage Shared knowledge for conservation

Is it possible to conserve the material heritage and at the same time achieve a proper transmission of the intangible heritage linked to it? Is this the exclusive task of professionals or is an active role of territorial communities possible? These are some of the questions animating today s debate on the conservation of the so-called minor cultural heritage. A series of case studies were analyzed as part of a research project conducted by the University of Genoa in collaboration with the CNR; the aim of this research was to analyze the strategies for the conservation of tangible and intangible heritage, to understand the level of involvement of the populations and the possible role of the scientific community in the heritage conservation process. In particular, the study was extended to different realities in Mediterranean area (in Italy and in Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan contexts). One of the future perspectives of this research is to arrive at guidelines with multidisciplinary approaches for joint actions towards tangible and intangible heritage, implementing actions with the involvement of social participation, dissemination, education and communication.