Online Research Seminar Series | November 2026 – April 2027.

Organised by the Italian Chapter of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies (ACHS).

The Italian Chapter of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies is pleased to introduce Critical Heritage Encounters, a new online research seminar series running from November 2026 to April 2027.
Bringing together researchers and practitioners working across different disciplines and geographical contexts, the series aims to foster critical dialogue around cultural heritage, its interpretation, governance, and contemporary transformations.
Through presentations of ongoing research, projects, and publications, Critical Heritage Encounters explores a wide range of topics, including participatory governance, difficult and contested heritage, literary archives, intangible heritage, heritage law, and curatorial practices.

Programme

2026

6 November | Rebecca Ciattini
The Poetics of a Stalinist Capital: Literary Archive of a Disappearing City

27 November | Think it Big Group – Simona Bravaglieri, Anna de la Torre Fornell, Giulia Ferro, Marco Paladini, Duna Viezzoli
The NextGen Heritage – Think it Big Manifesto

18 December | Alessandro Gaballo
Participatory Governance of Cultural Heritage: “Patti di collaborazione” for Public-Citizen Co-production

2027

22 January | Sara Di Luca
Intangible Cultural Heritage Law and the Digital Era: Living Heritage, Civil Society, and Sustainable Development

29 January | Maria Pia Guermandi
Restituire. L’elefante nella stanza dei musei occidentali

12 February | Francesca Leonardi
Organizing Dissonance for Difficult Heritage: Critical Managerial Implications from the Reuse of Fascist Architectures

19 February | Francesca De Nardis
Musical Practices and Heritage-Making Process in the Resia Valley

26 February | Camilla Ferri
Placing history: Changing uses of the material past in a historic place

12 March | Giulia Avanza
Dictatorship on Display: Representations in Albanian Museums before and after 1991

19 March | Livia Dubon
Curatorial Issues in Colonial and Anthropological Photographic Collections

9 April | Ginevra Ludovici and Francesca Leonardi
Re-Interpreting and Re-Assessing Difficult Heritage: A Study of Dissonances

16 April | Andrea Berettera
The Politics of Context: A Comparative Study of the Riace Bronzes and the Mont'e Prama Giants in Contemporary Italy

Practical Information

Format: Online (meeting link provided upon registration)
Time: 14:00–15:30 (CET)
Participation: Free and open to everyone
Registration and information: achsitaliagmail.com

To participate, please email achsitaliagmail.com. The meeting link will be shared a few days before each seminar.

The Italian Chapter also welcomes proposals for future presentations of research projects, academic papers, and books. Researchers interested in sharing their work with the community are encouraged to get in touch at the same email address.

Critical Heritage Encounters seeks to create an open space for exchange, collective reflection, and critical engagement with the multiple meanings and politics of heritage.