# **COASTAL HERITAGE AND TERRITORIAL SIGNS**

Antonietta Ivona

Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Largo Abbazia S. Scolastica n. 53 - 70124 Bari Phone +39 080 5049062, e-mail: antonietta.ivona@uniba.it

**Abstract** – Geographical space must be understood as a progressive and conscious construction - both from an individual and a collective point of view - in which the geographical elements and the relationships between the elements themselves are placed. From the post-World War II period and for the following twenty years, the coastal area has maintained an albeit minimal break with the man-made spaces; since the seventies of the last century, rapid industrial development has increasingly occupied the coasts.

Over time, the overlapping of the various activities, more attentive to economic benefits than ecological values, has designed a complex system of occupation of this delicate space according to whether the purpose was the occupation of the coast or the coastal sea. The ties, interests, and conflicts that arise in the maritime-coastal region (and which project themselves into wider spaces than those actually covered by its constituent elements) make it impossible to define a pre-established amplitude.

Historically, then, coastal regions have played the role of cultural transmission areas, where people, goods and goods and ideas from abroad are mixed with local and traditional ones. Today, cultural heritage plays a central role in the narratives of coastal regions and in their reorganization as places and / or containers of historical, cultural, social and economic principals.

Among the most evident coastal territorial signs are the lighthouses. The analysis intends to reflect on the path of transformation of lighthouses in Italy and of the other coastal structures being divested by the State, with the awareness that similarly to other processes, even that of the conservation and reuse of cultural resources, such as lighthouses, cannot take place anywhere alike.

Each territory is the result of the historical-cultural values that have shaped it over time and, therefore, they will have to be taken into account in the processes of re-inclusion of those structures in the economic and social life of the host community.

## **Coastal space as heritage**

Coastal areas are currently areas of significant interest in the contemporary urban condition both for the variety of environmental, historical and cultural landscapes they include and also for their transitional character and interface between the hinterland, the coast and the sea. "These territories are often associated with dynamics related to leisure and tourism activities; they show out-of-the-ordinary spaces, themed environments in which landscapes are produced, marketed and consumed but at the same time they show a propensity to assume a plurality of meanings and become attractive areas of social interaction and collective interest, as they are characterized by relevant environmental and cultural qualities. Often, they are external to the dynamics and critical issues of the compact city." [1] (p. 150). Under the gaze

85 FUP Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (DOI 10.36253/fup\_best\_practice)

Antonietta Ivona, Coastal Heritage and Territorial Signs, pp. 85-94, © 2020 Author(s), CC BY 4.0 International, DOI 10.36253/978-88-5518-147-1.10

of the tourist, the coasts are considered places where human life was simple and picturesque, transforming them into heritage and generating new forms of income. [2]

Heritage can be defined as the set of tangible and intangible assets in which a group, company or nation takes on the heritage of its past, to be preserved in the present also for the benefit of future generations. "Heritage is not given and definable a priori, nor unique in terms of value hierarchies: what is considered heritage by one generation may not be considered as heritage by another generation, and then be re-evaluated by the next one. In fact, the legacy we are talking about only makes sense if those who inherit reinterpret, inscribe that legacy in their present." [3] (p. XX). It is also important to question the sense of collective heritage or that set of values, symbols and territorial signs in which a community recognizes itself and through which it transmits its identity.

Geographical space must be interpreted, from both an individual and a collective point of view, as a progressive and conscious construction in which the geographical elements and the relationships between the elements themselves are placed. If since the second post-war period and for the following twenty years, the coastal area has maintained an albeit minimal break with the man-made spaces, since the seventies of the last century, rapid industrial development has increasingly occupied the coasts.

To understand that new geoeconomic organization, it is necessary to refer to the conceptual contrast between growth and development that in those years appeared in the scientific debate "The organization after the Second World War was dominated by the idea of growth: to the expansion of economies it corresponded along the coasts of the western world, an expansion of structures; the phenomenon of gigantism ensued." [4], (p. 369). For a long time what was simple growth was considered development with a completely positive meaning. "Occupying the coast progressively and enslaving the coastal sea for a long time has been considered an inevitable effect of development while it was simply a matter of growth and events generating considerable environmental effects. The negative feedback chains, which were triggered in an increasing number of coastal fronts, first went unnoticed then were considered an inevitable cost to pay for economic progress […] which from the coastal strip spread both inland and in the sea mirrors." [4] (p. 369).

The 'maritime-coastal region', developed by Vallega, is useful for understanding the changes in the coastal area; he defines it as a special region arranged on two environments, land and sea, profoundly different but which establish integrated forms of occupation and integration of resources. In the following years, the growing awareness of the economic importance of the sea and its immediate hinterland has generated further changes in the evaluation of the role of maritime spaces in territorial organization processes. [5].

The thickness of the coastal strips is a multipurpose concept, which assumes proportions commensurate with the phenomena, parameters and functions under study. More than two simple "joint plans", the coastal areas and the coastal sea, elements that have always exerted a powerful attraction on men, are linked by a network of relationships that thickens and becomes more complex, as human organization becomes more relational. [6].

Historically, coastal regions have played the role of cultural transmission areas, where people, goods and goods and ideas from abroad are mixed with local and traditional ones. Today, cultural heritage plays a central role in the narratives of coastal regions and in their reorganization as places and / or containers of historical, cultural, social and economic principals.

Cultural heritage is, therefore, that part of the past that we select in the present for current purposes whether they are economic, cultural, political, or social. Human interaction with the sea in coastal areas has shaped the natural landscape; it played a crucial role in the formation of the maritime and coastal cultural heritage. Over time, it has promoted the promotion of the sense of identity and attachment to places. [7], [8], [9].

## **The recovery of territorial signs: lighthouses and other structures**

The Italian legislation on cultural heritage has introduced the concept of enhancement and use of cultural heritage for some years by entrusting cultural assistance and hospitality services to the public to third parties. In this direction, since 2015 and in the other three subsequent editions, the national project "Valore Paese" of the State Property Agency has started, which intends to promote the enhancement of the Italian public real estate assets through the synergy between the tourism, art and culture, economic development and territorial cohesion. In this sense, the recovery of public property owned by the state and local authorities has the possibility of being considered no longer only in terms of cost for the community, but also as a significant lever for territorial and social development, in a partnership logic public-private.

In the almost five years since the start of the project, new synergies have been created for the effective implementation of the project; from the cooperation of the central administration with the regions and local authorities and individuals who will request and obtain the concession of use to the agreements for the promotion and use of lighthouses and other coastal structures. New ways of entrusting cultural, hospitality and organizational assistance services were also prepared, also linked to the establishment of mixed companies.

The enhancement of the lighthouses, in particular, concerns the economic relevance of the cultural heritage for the impacts that it transversely determines in relation to its activities and services. The conversion of lighthouses and coastal structures in Italy is comparable to some initiatives similar to the European scale; specifically a similar path started in Spain and Portugal. Even lighthouses like other cultural resources are finally considered as an expression of that system of signs that binds the territory with the economic and social structure of a nation. [10] [11] [12].

In accordance with article 9 of the Italian Constitution ("The Republic promotes the development of culture and scientific and technical research. It protects the landscape and the historical and artistic heritage of the nation"), the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape (introduced in 2004 and modified in 2015) set the guiding concepts, such as protection, conservation and enhancement, relating to the thinking and activities on the Italian cultural heritage. The term 'protection' (Art. 3) means any activity aimed at recognizing and conserving an asset of our cultural heritage so that it can be offered to collective knowledge and enjoyment. Conservation is any activity carried out with the aim of maintaining the integrity, identity and functional efficiency of a cultural asset, in a coherent, planned and coordinated manner (Art. 29), and is expressed in the in-depth knowledge of the cultural asset and in limiting the risk situations connected to the cultural asset in its context. Enhancement is any activity aimed at improving the conditions of knowledge and conservation of the cultural heritage and increasing its public use, so as to transmit the values that this heritage bears. Protection is the exclusive competence of the State, which dictates the rules and issues the administrative measures necessary to guarantee it; the enhancement is carried out concurrently between the state and the region, and also involves the participation of private entities (Art. 6). The enhancement consists in the exercise of the functions and in the discipline of the activities aimed at promoting knowledge of the cultural heritage and ensuring the best conditions of use and public use of the heritage itself. It also includes the promotion and support of cultural heritage conservation interventions. With reference to the landscape, the enhancement also includes the redevelopment of buildings and areas subject to compromised or degraded protection, or the creation of new coherent and integrated landscape values.

With particular reference to the enhancement and redevelopment of properties of landscape value on the Italian territory, the "Valore Paese" Initiative of the Agenzia del Demanio, since 2015, promotes the economic and social value of some state real estate assets (such as villas, historic buildings, castles, prisons, barracks, lighthouses, and more).

The first edition was divided into two macro-projects: Valore Paese for historic houses and Valore Paese for lighthouses; the first was aimed at strengthening the cultural offer and competitiveness of Italy through a strategy of integration between the sectors of tourism, art and culture, economic development and territorial cohesion on the model of the hotel chain of Paradores in Spain and Pousadas in Portugal. By integrating the "Strategic Plan for the Development of Tourism in Italy 2020" and the community programming 2014-2020, the project had the aim of creating a new hotel accommodation system with precise quality standards and dedicated to those tourists more likely to enjoy of local cultural heritage.

The second 'Valore Paese Lighthouse' project was aimed at recovering a part of the public heritage, owned by the state and local authorities, now economically unproductive but with great potential for territorial and social development. [13] [14].

Some of the lighthouses, inhabited by their caretakers until a few years ago, are now in a state of progressive degradation and can be converted and reused in tourist-cultural structures, information points and restaurants. The main purpose of the enhancement process (in its four editions) is to subtract the lighthouses that are in a state of degradation, to start them to regeneration, helping to activate local economies for the benefit of the community. Since 2015, four editions of "Valore Paese Fari" have followed, with the results indicated in table 1.

The enhancement will be operational through the concession of use (after a specific Public announcement) for up to 50 years to operators who present a tourism project with high economic potential useful to the whole territory; however, the concession provides for the maintenance of the public-private partnership.

Until 2015, a similar operation had been tested only for Capo Spartivento, in Sardinia, for which the state property collects a concession fee of 100 000 € per year. In addition, it is estimated that savings for the State can be quantified at 210 000 € per year for ordinary operations, to which must be added the extraordinary safety and protection measures estimated at 400 000 € on average per beacon.

At the same time, the State will collect over 330 thousand euros in annual fees which, in consideration of the different duration of the concessions, will amount to around 6.8 million euros for the entire loan period. The successful bidders will invest around 6 million euros to redevelop the structures and adapt them to their new vocation, with an overall economic impact of around 20 million euros and an estimated occupation of around 100 working units. These data, then, are even more significant if contextualized in the territories where the lighthouses are located.


Table 1 - Results of the past editions of the "Valore Paese" Initiative

Generally, the lighthouse regeneration projects envisaged by the Initiative and other similar ones in other countries, foresee the transformation of the same into tourist reception places. This is true of the thirteen headlights already definitively awarded.

In the Lighthouse of Punta Cavazzi in Ustica, the winning company plans to create, in addition to the lighthouse accommodation model, also a cultural container on the guesthouse model with the function of scientific training, seminars, sporting events, but also a residence for artists, a center visits to the lighthouse and a cultural café to create synergies between research and the island's marine park. Similar are also the projects for the lighthouses of Capo Grosso on the Island of Levanzo (TR), of Brucoli in Augusta (SR), of Murro di Porco in Siracusa, with particular attention, the latter three, also to the dissemination of knowledge local food and wine. The lighthouses that will be managed by the German company Floatel GMbH, specialized in the recovery of lighthouses in Scotland, Spain and Germany, or Punta Imperatore in Forio D'Ischia, Faro di Spignon in Venice and San Domino in the Tremiti Islands will follow a model of "refuge in the lighthouse ", intended as an exclusive and reserved space. An exception is the Lighthouse of Capo D'Orso in Maiori (Salerno), for which the successful company, WWF Oasi Soc. Unipersonale arl, has also planned to organize education, observation and monitoring of biodiversity activities for the dissemination the culture of the environment alongside the spaces for hospitality. The Lighthouse of Capo Zafferano in Santa Flavia (Palermo) and the Lighthouse of Po di Goro in Ferrara will be transformed into hotels. [16].

Compared to the twelve lighthouses whose award procedures are definitively concluded (the procedures for the concession of the lighthouse of the Tremiti Islands are almost finished), sums can therefore be drawn; overall, the state will collect approximately six billion euros discounted for the fees for the duration of the concessions. This amount will increase as the award procedures are concluded The concessions, then, have been formalized starting from 2017, therefore the data necessary to understand the effective profitability of the lighthouses transformed into tourist structures will actually be quantifiable in the coming years.

The last lighthouse assigned in concession, in chronological order, is that of Camogli, in the Park of Portofino (Genova). The winning company is New Fari S.r.L which will invest 593 thousand euros for the redevelopment and will manage it for 29 years. The recovery project provides for the enhancement of the structure with a significant contribution of new technologies combined with the extraordinary reception potential that this building complex located on the southern slope can offer, in an exceptionally panoramic point of the Portofino Park (The park has an average turnout annual of about 130 000 admissions). Located at 610 masl on the Portofino Promontory, the Semaforo Nuovo was inaugurated in the late 1800s and remained in operation until the mid-1900s and was then definitively abandoned. The walls towards the sea were black and white checkered to make it easily identifiable from the sea. The location was chosen as a traffic light station for reporting on the sea and on land. Later, in consideration of the frequent mists affecting the summit of Monte di Portofino, for the same purpose, the Semaforo Nuovo was built in the lower area.

Another local initiative for the recovery and enhancement of Italian lighthouses is the Sardinia Region "Orizzonte Fari" Program. This involves the publication of five concession notices for as many coastal lighthouses, in implementation of the cooperation agreement with the program, signed in 2017 between the State Property Agency and the Autonomous Region, aimed at the requalification of the island's maritime-coastal heritage. The disused lighthouses included in this first phase are: Capo Orso in Palau, the signal station of Capo Sperone in Sant'Antioco, the traffic light station of Capo Ferro in Arzachena, the Capo Figari lookout station in Golfo Aranci and Punta Falcone signal station in Santa Teresa di Gallura. The agreement includes a total of 10 lighthouses, towers and coastal buildings, 9 of which are owned by the Region and 1 owned by the State, the Lighthouse of Capo Comino in Siniscola. [15].

Like other processes, even that of the conservation and reuse of cultural resources for tourism purposes, such as lighthouses, cannot take place anywhere in the same way. "Even if there is a logical set of steps to be taken, it may be necessary to make changes to adapt to the conditions, needs, purposes and objectives of the place. These steps, or phases, are not mutually exclusive, as there is the possibility of some degree of overlap. […] The precise nature of these phases cannot be generalized, since they are subject to variations of different degrees, depending on the circumstances and specific contexts." [3] (p. 79).

The overall success of the reuse of Italian lighthouses will depend on the contextualization of each of the initiatives and on the overall vision that the implementing bodies will have.

Sometimes, even small territorial realities, can benefit, in terms of environmental redevelopment and re-enhancement of the coast, from the restoration of ancient coastal buildings. This is the case of the small seaside resort of Torre Canne di Fasano (Brindisi), where there is an ancient lighthouse (from 1927). Finally, after more than forty years of progressive abandonment, since 2015 the Municipality of Fasano manages this structure under concession (it is a property owned by the Italian State Property); after several works to make the spaces in front and some interiors usable, it is now a tourist attraction and, together, a meeting place for the local population. (Figures 1 and 2).

Figure 1 - The Lighthouse of Torre Canne before the restoration works. (Source: Ivona, 2010).

Figure 2 - The Lighthouse of Torre Canne after the restoration works. (Source: Ivona, 2016).

Figure 3 - The Lighthouse of Torre Canne today. (Source: Ivona, 2020).

# **Conclusions**

The recovery and reuse of identity artefacts has already been taking place in Italy for several years; this renewed route also includes lighthouses and other coastal buildings, gradually recognized as cultural resources not to be dispersed but rather valorised appropriately. They, like other cultural resources, are finally considered as an expression of that system of signs that binds the territory with the socio-economic structure in which they are present. "Within this conception, the object" cultural good "is not analyzed as such but in its meaning, in the value that is given to it, its value as a sign within social relations. The cultural asset therefore assumes different meanings and roles in different territorial contexts." [17] (p. 356).

These goods, therefore, have a relational value and each good is at the center of a socio-cultural multiplicity of evaluations. The complex of localized cultural heritage constitutes the typical heritage of each place, the elements of which enter or can enter into relationship with each other and with the external, within the framework of a local territorial system. In this way, cultural heritage allows each community to achieve its own identity and this heritage can represent a powerful engine for local development, understood as development based on a self-organized process. All the components of the local heritage therefore favor the continuous reinvention of the territory.

The "Agenzia Paese Fari" Initiative of the State Property Agency was developed with this aim in mind. For some years now, in other countries such as the United States, Canada and others, the lighthouses and other typically abandoned coastal structures have been recovered and reused as prestigious tourist residences, as valuable evidence of history. Many examples are also present in Europe; the Corsewall lighthouse in southern Scotland, built in 1815, is now a luxury hotel; Croatia has undertaken the path of regeneration of the lighthouses for tourism for several years and currently there are numerous historical lighthouses transformed into hotels; the same happened in Brittany and England.

This objective guided the development of the "Valore Paese" Lighthouses Initiative of the Italian State Property Agency. For some years now, in other countries such as the United States, Canada and others, the lighthouses and other typically abandoned coastal structures have been recovered and reused as prestigious tourist residences, as valuable evidence of history. Many examples are also present in Europe; the Corsewall lighthouse in southern Scotland, built in 1815, is now a luxury hotel; Croatia has undertaken the path of regeneration of the lighthouses for tourism for several years and currently there are numerous historical lighthouses transformed into hotels; the same happened in Brittany and England.

The common challenge for all initiatives to reuse cultural resources for purposes other than the original ones is, therefore, how to preserve their cultural and economic value without incurring the risk of making them less attractive. An excess of emphasis in emphasizing their cultural value could result in a museification of the resource. The risk, however, of placing an excess of attention in the production of economic value at the expense of the cultural one could result in a trivialization of the resource itself. The "Valore Paese" Initiative does not seem to generate such a risk, given the generally similar characteristics of all the buildings included in the four calls; that is, reduced spaces for accommodation, geographic location often far from inhabited centers and therefore far from traditional entertainment venues.

Concluding, in the specific case of lighthouses, how to summarize the principle of the conservation of the resource-headlights with that of usability according to the principles of sustainability over time? Some international examples (the aforementioned flagship hotels in Croatia, Scotland, Maine, New England) provide reassurance; where the management of the lighthouses, which have become hotels/accommodation facilities, has continued to be attentive to the conservation of the structure and its surroundings, they have not suffered any loss of cultural or economic value. The careful management of the Italian lighthouses that will be managed will not be limited to the maintenance of the structure alone but also of all the other structures and infrastructures that will be necessary to transform an ancient garrison for the safety of mariners into a reception facility for tourists.

The options were two: the permanent abandonment of those structures no longer useful for the original purpose or a new destination and, therefore, conservation. Moreover, the debate on the role of cultural heritage in coastal areas, in the implementation of appropriate sustainable development strategies, is still very heated not only in Italy. It must consider the coastal heritage as a whole; effective conservation and re-enhancement strategies will be those that will consider each resource an integral part of the overall heritage of the territory examined.

## **References**

