The Restoration of St. James’s Church in Como and the Cathedral Museum as Agents for Sustainable Urban Planning Strategies

Abstract

This paper aims at exploring the implementation of sustainability concepts in the Historic Preservation field. It delves into the multiple roles of cultural heritage in fostering and empowering sustainable development processes, understanding cultural heritage as a laboratory for (urban) innovation/creativity. In this sense, conservation is no longer explored within the traditional disciplinary borders, but it investigates the ways of contributing to the economy and society. This article pursues the Walled City of Como as a case study due to the opportunity of introducing the program of a new museum into the complexity of Como’s historic center. Recently, the center itself has undergone such studies/policies and applied conservation theories/practices. Furthermore, the historic center of Como was analyzed based on a multifaceted literature screening, gathering data on the tourism and real estate trends. In those studies, the crucial role that cultural heritage could take for urban development has been outlined, specifically as an enabler of controlling agencies for gentrification and commodification tendencies and fostering integration and collaboration among the key stakeholders. In terms of implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in the heritage field, the main lesson emerging from the case study is “integration” as a critical tool for such strategies’ feasibility.