In recent years, there has been a growing social and institutionalconcern regarding cultural heritage issues. The concept of heritage has evolvedover time as human awareness has increased in preserving the materialreferences of their existence.
Simultaneously with the human desire to preserve symbols, discussionshave advanced on the "how" of conserving these legacies to perpetuatethem for future generations. Numerous works and authors have addressed theevolution of the heritage concept, and there are extensive studies, currents,and thoughts on intervening in buildings from past eras.
The formation of the cultural heritage concept in the Western world wasbuilt through significant meetings, documents, letters, and recommendationspublished on the subject, as well as the main theories of historical monumentrestoration, from the late 18th century to the present day. It is an ongoingprocess because, just as society evolves and changes, concepts and themesrelated to cultural heritage are always under debate.
According to the French historian Françoise Choay (2001, p.31), theemergence of collections of ancient artworks may have originated in the 3rdcentury B.C. as an anticipation of the idea of a museum. However, this initialthought was not linked to the perpetuation of historical records for futuregenerations, often representing only a lucrative purpose for those who tradedthem.
Significant events in world history, such as the French Revolution, theadvent of the Industrial Revolution, and in the 20th century, the two WorldWars, caused ideological crises and serious urban destruction, leading toaccelerated social and spatial transformations.
While conflicts from these historical events caused a traumaticdisturbance to the traditional environment, they also sparked an interest ininvestigating the ancient city. It was precisely due to the hindrance theyrepresented to the new conception of urban space organization that ancientstructures gained importance and conceptual identity.
It can be deduced, then, that the development of ideas for preservingcultural heritage strengthened due to the human need to establish new identityrelationships with their space in an attempt to reclaim memory. Thus, memoriesrooted in concrete, space, gesture, image, objects, and events connect like aguiding thread in a process guided by temporal continuity, laying thefoundations of an individual's, a group's, or a nation's cultural identity.
It is precisely in the continuity of these memories that the guaranteeof survival and the transmission of culture to future generations resides.
"[...] cultural assets are the product and testimony of differenttraditions and intellectual achievements of the past and, therefore, anessential element of the personality of peoples [...]"ParisRecommendation, 1968.
Even though each generation absorbs the teachings inherited from thepast differently, sometimes adding new elements to the received heritage, caremust be taken for the process to unfold openly, flexibly, and, above all,harmoniously to avoid the disruption of the entire balance and collectivesupports of memory that, in some way, manage to resist the action of time.
Transposing this thinking to the issue of cultural heritage, one canstart by making a correlation from the very meaning of the word"heritage," originating from the Latin "pater," directlylinked to paternal inheritance, i.e., ethical and moral values or materialobjects passed down from father to son.
"[...] this past, moreover, stretching all the way back to theorigin, instead of pulling backward, pushes forward, and, contrary to what onemight expect, it is the future that propels us back into the past[...]"(ARENDT, 1972)
THE RIO INSTITUTE FOR THE HERITAGE OFHUMANITY
"[...] among the countless imaginable cities, those where elementscome together without a guiding thread, without an internal code, aperspective, a discourse, should be excluded [...]"(CALVINO, 2003)
As determined by Article 216, § 1 of the Federal Constitution of Brazilof 1988, "The Public Power, with the collaboration of the community, willpromote and protect Brazilian cultural heritage through inventories,registrations, surveillance, landmarking, expropriation, and other forms ofsafeguarding and preservation."
Actions for the protection of cultural heritage in the municipality dateback to 1979 when the Cultural Corridor Executive Group was established, aimingspecifically to study culturally relevant areas in the central area of Rio deJaneiro. In 1986, with the creation of the Municipal Secretary of Culture, thenormative body, the General Department of Cultural Heritage (DGPC), wasestablished, which is currently called the Rio Heritage Institute (IRPH),instituted in 2012 when Rio de Janeiro obtained its first UNESCO World Heritagedeclaration.
The IRPH is responsible for safeguarding material and immaterial assetsprotected by relevant legislation, declared Areas of Protection of CulturalEnvironment (APACs), Areas Surrounding Listed Properties (AEBTs), and also, inconjunction with IPHAN, Sites declared World Heritage by UNESCO. It also workson the promotion and valorization of our cultural heritage through publicationprojects, magazines, manuals, brochures, photography contests, and the Rio CulturalHeritage Circuit, with plaques installed throughout the municipalityidentifying important locations and personalities in Rio's culture.
Currently, the IRPH safeguards 1,750 properties listed by municipallegislation, 10,508 preserved properties distributed in more than 20 APACs andAEBTs throughout the municipality. In addition, there are 55 items registeredas Intangible Cultural Heritage, recorded in four books: the Book of Knowledge,where knowledge and ways of doing rooted in the daily lives of communities areinscribed; the Book of Activities and Celebrations, where rituals and festivalsmarking collective experiences of work, religiosity, entertainment, and othersocial practices are inscribed; the Book of Forms of Expression, whereliterary, musical, plastic, scenic, and playful manifestations are inscribed,and the Book of Places, where urban areas, squares, locations, and other spaceswhere collective cultural practices concentrate and reproduce are inscribed.
The IRPH also oversees three Sites declared World Heritage by UNESCO:Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea (2012), for its exceptionaluniversal value of its landscape; the Archaeological Site of the Valongo Wharf(2017), the most significant physical evidence associated with the history ofthe arrival of enslaved Africans in the American continent; and the RobertoBurle Marx Site (2021), recognized in the Cultural Landscape category.
CARIOCA LANDSCAPES: BETWEEN THE MOUNTAIN ANDTHE SEA
The city of Rio de Janeiro was the first entirely urban and large-scalearea in the world to be inscribed on the World Heritage List as a CulturalLandscape, recognizing the exceptional universal value of its landscapes.Comprising the Tijuca National Park and the watersides organized through urbanplanning projects implemented over the years, this Site includes the city'smain public spaces, such as Flamengo Park, Vermelha Beach, the shores ofCopacabana/Leme and Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, as well as the historicalgardens of the city center, such as Passeio Público and Praça Paris, andvarious neighborhoods in the southern zone where the coexistence between natureand built areas has given rise to stunning and scenically beautiful landscapes.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF THE VALONGO WHARF
The Archaeological Site of the Valongo Wharf is the most importantphysical evidence associated with the history of the arrival of enslavedAfricans in the American continent, with the port of Rio de Janeiro consideredthe world's largest slave-receiving port. A witness to one of the most terriblecrimes against humanity, the site evokes painful memories with which manydescendants of the enslaved can strongly relate, carrying immense historicaland spiritual significance for Afro-Brazilians. The surroundings of the ValongoWharf have become the stage for various celebrations that continuouslycelebrate African heritage.
The IRPH holds the custody of the archaeological collection fromarchaeological excavations, mainly in the Port Region of Rio de Janeiro, duringthe Porto Maravilha revitalization works. To do so, it maintains the OpenLaboratory of Urban Archaeology (LAAU), which is responsible for the custody,conservation, and extroversion of about one and a half million items rescued inthe excavations. Its main collection is associated with the Valongo Wharf,giving this location international importance in the context of the Africandiaspora, recognizing the values of African-origin culture, discussing theaffirmation of the identity of its descendants, and addressing historicalreparations for three hundred and fifty years of the enslavement regime.
ROBERTO BURLE MARX SITE
The Roberto Burle Marx Site, located in the Pedra Branca Massif, inBarra de Guaratiba, was recognized as a World Heritage Site in the CulturalLandscape category. The Site, with an area of 405,000 m², houses a botanicalcollection with more than 3,500 plant species, a museum collection with morethan three thousand items, in addition to the works produced by the artistpreserved on-site, and his library with more than 4,000 titles in botany,architecture, landscaping, and other subjects. Public visitation became allowedthe year after the landscaper's death in 1994, enabling greater exchangebetween the artist's work and civil society.
Laura Di Blasi, Presidentof IRPH
