„Heritage, Conservation, and Creativity. Cultural Heritage in Transformation”, 1st International Conference
I had the pleasure of participating in the HERITAGE, CONSERVATION, and CREATIVITY, „Cultural Heritage in Transformation”, 1st International Conference on October 9th and 10th, 2024, organized by TECHN&ART – Technology, Restoration and Arts Enhancement Centre of the Polytechnic University of Tomar in Portugal. During this event, I presented my research on “Politics and Built Heritage in a Totalitarian State: The 1977 Earthquake’s Impact on Târgoviște, Romania’s Former Medieval Capital.” The conference was an excellent opportunity for scholars to engage with critical issues in history and heritage conservation, and it was placed also under the auspices of the KreativEU Alliance of Universities.
Paper Abstract:
Based on recently released archives, this study examines the interplay between politics and heritage preservation in Targoviste, the former medieval capital of Romania, following the 7.4 Richter 1977 earthquake, which resulted in over 1,500 deaths and damaged more than 35,000 buildings nationwide. Under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s totalitarian regime, the disaster marked a critical moment for the city’s architectural and cultural legacy. The 1977 abolition of the Heritage Monuments Direction allowed the regime to severely damage Romania’s built heritage without opposition from experts. In Bucharest alone, a historical area equivalent to the size of Venice was demolished for Ceaușescu’s grandiose projects. Similarly, in Targoviste, despite many 18th to early 20th-century buildings in the old center being largely undamaged or intact, they were blacklisted and the city was restructured according to Socialist architectural designs. This research delves into the decision-making process, the chain of command, the inhabitants’ reactions during the dictatorship, and the long-term consequences for Targoviste’s urban aesthetics and identity due to the destruction of much of its historical buildings. It begins with the international reaction to the earthquake, using European Union Archives in Brussels and Florence, and then focuses on Targoviste based on declassified documents from the National Archives of Romania, press research, memoirs, and oral interviews with historical building owners. To provide a comparative analysis, the study also examines the restoration of historical buildings in Camerino following the 2016 earthquake under a democratic regime.
https://hericc.ipt.pt/programme

OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Silviu Miloiu (October 13, 2024). „Heritage, Conservation, and Creativity. Cultural Heritage in Transformation”, 1st International Conference. Silviu Miloiu. Retrieved March 19, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/12hid