part 1 - Iccrom

MEASURING HERITAGE CONSERVATION PERFORMANCE
6th International Seminar on Urban Conservation
by the research team. The identification in the
exploratory survey was complemented by a preliminary
photographic survey of the assets that, it was
suggested, should be preserved. On analysing this
information, a card was designed for the purpose
of identifying and systematically characterizing
the assets that had been preliminarily identified.
These cards were used in the urban-architectural
and landscape survey of the various types of assets.
These included cultural landscapes, urban groupings,
single buildings and architectural elements.
The characteristics of the assets were ordered as per
the following variables: location, morphology, constituent/construction
materials, state of conservation
and values attributed.
Systematic survey: This consisted of filling in the
identification and characterization cards for all the
assets that had been surveyed in the previous step
in addition to new assets that had been identified
through consultations and interviews with residents,
particularly prominent people in the towns
and participants from local public and private institutions,
especially cultural ones. The carded assets
were photographed; a total of 350 pictures were
taken. This information was supplemented with
the collection of documentation in local public bodies.
After having completed the systematic survey
in situ, we proceeded to make an analysis and synthesis
of the assets carded. They were placed in the
historical context of their formation and the possible
relationships of assets to one another were checked
in accordance with cultural, economic and social
aspects. As a result, a list of items to be protected
was assembled. Relevant cultural values, inserted
into the logic of the historical narrative, were attributed
to them.
Confirmatory survey: This consisted of the in situ
confirmation of the characteristics of the assets
included in the protection list, of gathering complementary
information on the surroundings and of a
detailed analysis (or test) on the authenticity and
integrity of the assets. At this stage of the survey,
more than 853 photographs were taken with the
aim of showing the details and characteristics of the
assets selected.
Knowledge of the historical documentary archives,
current photographs, the in situ visits and the interviews
with people who are thoroughly familiar with
the history of this region guided how we came to
perceive the main issues that justify the importance
of the cultural assets. The time frame established,
from the 18 th century to the early 20 th century, was
substantiated by the facts that brought about spatial
transformations of the territory common to the three
towns, represented by the construction of the Paulo
Afonso railroad, the Angiquinho Hydroelectric
Plant and the Linhas Estrelas Factory, as well as the
introduction of the skilled worker group in Pedra
and the urban layout of the town of Água Branca.
Twenty nine assets were identified as being heritage
assets. The original decorative features of the
assets identified are largely intact or have undergone
minor alterations that do not violate the principles
of authenticity established by the international
organizations for safeguarding heritage. They form
a significant collection and one that is of unequalled
historical and artistic value in the Northeast, and
perhaps even in Brazil as a whole.
It is important to stress that despite having limited
resources to conduct this survey, this project stands
out among studies on identifying heritage assets in
Brazil, because it is one of the few to have conducted
a survey of an integrated character from multiple
points of view: the geographical area covered, the
historical period and the typologies of the assets.
2. Putting forward a methodology
for identifying cultural heritage
The identification of a cultural asset is related to
giving recognition to its historical and formal content.
The procedures required in this activity involve
applying, in a coordinated way, distinct methods:
the historical one; that of oral history; that of reading
the urban layout; and that of survey of the landscape
and the urban-architectural groupings. The
use of such methods should consider the nature of
the asset and the objectives of the study and can be
applied as a whole or separately. By obtaining this
information, complete and firm knowledge about
the asset can be ensured as to its physical, spatial
and functional attributes.
The historical method is indispensable for reconstructing
values associated with identifying and
preserving memory and cultural heritage. The
method enables a narrative to be constructed and
the forgotten identity of the place and the collective
memory to be drawn up again. Thus, the manuscript,
bibliographic and iconographic documentation
form essential sources in this process.
Thus, historical interpretation means building a
meaning for the events of the past. More and more,
historiography seeks to break away from the paradigm
of objectivity and to tackle understanding the
Ribeiro, C.; Lira, F.; Piccolo, R. & V. Pontual. 2012. Conserving and identifying heritage: A methodological contribution. In Zancheti,
S. M. & K. Similä, eds. Measuring heritage conservation performance, pp. 15-25. Rome, ICCROM.
20