VALORIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE BUILT HERITAGE OF FORTIFIED TOWNS: THE CASES OF THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES OF SABBIO-NETA, ITALY, AND VISBY, SWEDEN

The purpose of this discussion paper is to discuss the influence of built heritage on the development of the local economy, and the challenges of managing complex built structures which are owned both privately and publically. More specifically, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Mantova-Sabbioneta, Italy, and Visby, Sweden, will be the focus of this discussion. Built heritage represents a number of values: economic, architectural, historical, and social. Today the heritage of these sites is so obvious that we may risk taking their values for granted. Heritage has to be managed in a sustainable way if its values are to be preserved and increased. The built heritage, however, has not until recently been associated with benefits for the local community. The paper asks the question: how was built heritage in these places valorized throughout the 20th century, and what did the UNESCO nomination of the sites mean for the valorization process? The small Renaissance town of Sabbioneta and the medieval inner city of Visby share the common feature of their built heritage in the fact that both of them have city walls. These walls are closely associated with the character and history of the towns. The presence of the walls and their good state of conservation was at the base of the statement of universal value. However managing them is a legally and practically complicated issue, not to say resource demanding. By comparing experiences of these challenges an increased knowledge on how to manage fortified towns without decreasing their values may emerge.