Venice Charter

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The Venice Charter of 1964 is regarded as the central and internationally recognized guideline in the preservation of monuments and as the most important monument preservation text of the 20th century. It defines central values ​​and procedures for the conservation and restoration of monuments .

history

The Venice Charter was approved on May 31, 1964 on the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice by the second International Congress of Architects and Conservationists that met there . The basis of the deliberations was a draft of the "Carta internazionale del restauro" by Piero Gazzolla and Roberto Pane , which emerged as a further development of the Athens Charter (from July 29th to August 10th 1933 at the 4th Congress of the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne and published in Paris in October 1943).

1964 marked a turning point in European modernity . The Second World War had led to a dramatic loss of cultural assets and the reconstruction after 1945 had given Europe a new face. The push of modernization that started in Great Britain and Central Europe in the 19th century had now also reached southern and western Europe. The development of the past 100 years of monument preservation was concentrated in a few basic ideas in the charter and linked to the contemporary requirements for an appropriate handling of monuments. This laid the foundation for the further development of modern monument preservation, which has not lost any of its topicality since then.

The new, openly formulated concept of monument defined in the charter encompassed both the individual monument and urban and rural ensembles, large artistic creations in addition to modest works that would only acquire cultural significance in the course of time, such as industrial buildings and evidence of modernity and postmodernism . The charter demanded that structural interventions should not change the structure and shape of the monuments, as well as environmental protection . Reconstructions should only take place in the form of anastylosis , the re-joining of existing parts, because the contributions of all epochs would have to be respected.

The charter and the founding of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1965 gave the impetus for a differentiated approach to the architectural heritage and gave it historical evidence. Just in time to save historical city structures, monuments and cultural landscapes from destruction. The charter has remained a foundation against the threat of non-binding in dealing with cultural heritage.

preamble

“As living testimony to centuries-old peoples' traditions , the monuments convey a spiritual message from the past in the present. Humanity, which is becoming more and more aware of the universal validity of human values, sees the monuments as a common heritage and feels jointly responsible for their preservation towards future generations. It has an obligation to pass the monuments on to them in the full richness of their authenticity .

It is therefore essential that the principles governing the conservation and restoration of monuments are jointly developed and formulated at international level, with each country being responsible for applying them within the framework of its culture and tradition.

In giving a first form to these basic principles, the Athens Charter of 1931 contributed to the development of a broad international movement, notably in national documents, in the activities of ICOM and UNESCO and in the creation of the 'International Center for Study on Conservation and Restoration the cultural property 'has taken shape. Growing awareness and critical attitudes have turned to ever more complex and differentiated problems; so it seems time to review the principles of that charter in order to deepen them and put them on a broader basis in a new document. "

- Preamble to the Venice Charter, 1964

Signatory

literature

Web links