Definition of Cultural Heritage -- References to ... - CIF - Icomos

ICCROM Working Group 'Heritage and Society' / / JJ
addition to formal and popular architecture, these properties include all other
forms of material evidence, such as archaeological and ethnographical objects
and, in sum, the whole of the material environment in which we live. The
geographical environment is nature as it manifests itself on the territory of Quebec
in coast, mountain and plain. We wish to insist above all on the great importance
of our landscapes and our natural sites, which have a unique aesthetic and/or
panoramic value. And let us note, finally, that the people in their environment,
who have their own customs and traditions, whose memory is furnished with a
particular folklore, and whose way of living is adapted to this specific setting, are
a human and social treasure that also requires protection.
This broad definition of our national heritage includes, then, all the elements of
our civilization, as they exist not only individually but also as components of
larger historical, cultural and traditional unities or, to put it in simpler terms, as
examples of man's adaptation to his environment. This concept of heritage
includes the idea of a cultural landscape which may be defined as the result of the
interaction of human society and nature.
Preservation of the national heritage may be viewed, in this light, as that
combination of study, expertise and physical intervention which aims at
conserving every element of this heritage in the best possible condition. This
activity involves proper maintenance, consolidation, repair, safeguarding and
restoration, to prevent the deterioration and, at worst, the destruction of the
national heritage.
1982, ICOMOS Charter (Gardens)
Historic Gardens, The Florence Charter
Preamble
The ICOMOS-IFLA International Committee for Historic Gardens, meeting in
Florence on 21 May 1981, decided to draw up a charter on the preservation of
historic gardens which would bear the name of that town. The present Charter
was drafted by the Committee, and registered by ICOMOS on 15 December 1982
as an addendum to the Venice Charter covering the specific field concerned.
1. "An historic garden is an architectural and horticultural composition of interest to
the public from the historical or artistic point of view". As such, it is to be
considered as a MONUMENT.
2. "The historic garden is an architectural composition whose constituents are
primarily horticultural and therefore alive, which means that they are perishable
and renewable." Thus its appearance is the reflection of a perpetual equilibrium
between the cyclic movement of the seasons and of the development and decay of
nature and the will of the artist and artificer seeking to keep it permanently
unchanged.
3. As a monument, the historic garden must be preserved in accordance with the
spirit of the Venice Charter. However, since it is a LIVE MONUMENT, its
preservation must be governed by specific rules which are subject of the present
Charter.
4. The architectural composition of the historic garden embraces: its plan and the
shape of any portions in relief; its beds of plants, including their species,
proportions, colour schemes, spacing and respective heights; its permanent
structures or decorative features; its running or still waters, in which the sky is
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