On 30 June 2026, the Donnaregina Complex in Naples hosted the seminar Towards a Participatory Interpretation of the Built Heritage: Experiences in Dialogue, an interdisciplinary meeting dedicated to the relationship between heritage conservation, specialist knowledge and community participation. The seminar was promoted by the School of Specialisation in Architectural and Landscape Heritage of the University of Naples Federico II, in collaboration with CNR-IRISS and the Department of Architecture of the University of Naples Federico II, as part of its educational activities on the conservation, restoration and enhancement of cultural heritage. The meeting started from a central question: how can heritage protection and conservation involve communities, institutions and different publics without weakening the role of specialist knowledge and professional responsibility? This question is increasingly relevant in contemporary heritage practice. The conservation of built heritage necessarily depends on advanced historical, architectural, technical and scientific expertise. At the same time, decisions about heritage do more than preserve physical structures: they contribute to defining meanings, relationships, uses and forms of collective responsibility. From this perspective, participatory interpretation does not replace professional expertise. Rather, it can help make conservation and management processes more understandable, inclusive and socially sustainable, creating opportunities for dialogue between institutional knowledge and the values, memories and experiences associated with heritage by different communities. Following the opening remarks by Valentina Russo, Director of the School of Specialisation in Architectural and Landscape Heritage, the seminar brought together three complementary perspectives.
Giuseppe Pace, Senior Researcher at CNR-IRISS, explored the relationship between participation, heritage meanings and sustainable cultural transitions, focusing on the need to move beyond approaches in which communities are considered merely as audiences or recipients of expert knowledge. Carmen Granito, from The Story Behind, discussed the evolution of Heritage Interpretation, highlighting its gradual shift from the communication of expert-selected narratives towards approaches that recognise dialogue, participation and multiple perspectives as integral parts of the interpretive process. Fabio Pagano, senior official of the Italian Ministry of Culture, presented the experience of the Archaeological Park of Campi Flegrei, examining how a major public heritage institution can become a space for experimentation in the shared construction of heritage value and in the relationship between conservation, communities and territorial development.
The contributions were followed by a discussion led by Maria Cerreta, Professor at the University of Naples Federico II, with Stefania Pollone participating as discussant. The seminar concluded with an open dialogue with the postgraduate students of the School, focusing on participation, shared responsibility and the changing role of specialist expertise in the care of the built environment.
One of the main messages emerging from the discussion was that participation and expertise should not be understood as opposing approaches. Heritage conservation continues to require clear institutional responsibilities and robust specialist knowledge. Participation, however, can broaden the knowledge base on which decisions are made, reveal different values and meanings, and strengthen the relationships between heritage places and the communities that interact with them.
In this sense, participatory heritage interpretation can contribute to a broader transition: from the protection of heritage as an object to the care of heritage as a shared cultural process, in which conservation, interpretation and public engagement become increasingly interconnected.