The Italian-native long-standing tradition of the design of the built environment continues today, showing its consolidation and maturity in several high-quality projects which display its multiplicity of visions, approaches and strategies. The relationship between conservation culture and design culture seems to be still an open issue, both in professional practice and academic formation. Moreover, the complexity of the issues brought about by the several changes in the current period led to an expansion of interpretative categories and operational scopes, concerning both conservation and design. Nowadays, cultural heritage shows a strongly inclusive vocation, tied to an idea of culture that incorporates the practices, knowledge and traditions that mankind has used to regulate their relationships with the natural environment and the different social groups over the course of history. The acknowledgment of its testamentary value led to its fully-fledged inclusion in the policies of economic programming and urban and territorial planning; in this sense, architectural heritage takes the role of a resource, of a territorial asset to preserve and valorize as a driving force of economic, social and cultural growth.

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