Patrimoniul urban ca resursă creativă de dezvoltare comunitară. Cetatea Alba Iulia / Urban Heritage as a Creative Resource for Community Development.The Citadel of Alba Iulia

The competition for the status of European Capital of Culture 2021 gave rise to a certain territorial “frenzy” in elaborating sustainable strategies meant to coherently address the issues of urban cultural management in Romanian setting, with emphasis on the preservation and promotion of local identities within the larger European and global cultural scene. However, the competition brought forward in different cases the lack of a permanent cultural and social infrastructure meant to sustain such a status on the long term. Such a case was the candidature of Alba Iulia, a Transylvanian town, in possession of an extremely diversified and rich urban and architectural heritage, representative for different Romanian historical moments. This article analysis in depth the current cultural scene from Alba Iulia from the perspective of the creative industries spontaneously formed in the latest five years and their potential impact on the preservation and urban revitalisation of different areas of the historical centre. Moreover, the creative industries present currently in Alba Iulia are directly linked with the national setting, where a wider territorial strategy tries to connect the economic benefices of such activities with the preservation of the built environment. Therefore, the article raises issues in matter of community engagement and involvement within the historical centre, cultural entrepreneurship and social awareness of a specific urban setting acknowledged for its patrimonial value, and the potential of the creative industries in the social and cultural revitalisation.