Venice Charter
| The Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites | |
|---|---|
| Created | 31 May 1964 |
| Location | Venice, Italy |
| Author(s) | see: The Committee |
| Purpose | Conservation and Restoration of the Monuments and Sites |
The Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites is a set of guidelines, drawn up in 1964 by a group of conservation professionals in Venice, that provides an international framework for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings.
The development of new conservation and restoration techniques have threatened the historic buildings in a general sense. In 1931, the International Museum Office organized a meeting of specialists about the conservation of historic buildings. The conference resulted with the Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments. This consisted of a manifesto of seven points:
The Athens Charter proposed the idea of a common world heritage, the importance of the setting of monuments, and the principle of the integration of new materials. The Charter had very progressive suggestions for its period, influencing the creation of conservation institutions, as well as the eventual Venice Charter.
With the concern that listing and safeguarding historic buildings was not enough, in 1957 architectural specialists arranged a congress in Paris called The First International Congress of Architects and Specialists of Historic Buildings. At its conclusion, the congress published seven recommendations:
The Congress agreed to have its second meeting in Venice and Piero Gazzola, who was to serve as the chairman of the Venice Charter, was invited to hold the Venice Congress.
In 1964, at the Second International Congress of Architects and Specialists of Historic Buildings, 13 resolutions were adopted of which the first was the Venice Charter and the second was creation of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites).
The Venice Charter consisted of seven main titles and sixteen articles. The concept of historic monuments and sites was interpreted as the common heritage, therefore safeguarding them for the future generations with authenticity was defined as the common responsibility. The following text is the original 1964 text agreed on by the representatives of the participating nations mentioned at the end of the Charter.
Article 1. The concept of a historic monument embraces not only the single architectural work but also the urban or rural setting in which is found the evidence of a particular civilization, a significant development or a historic event. This applies not only to great works of art but also to more modest works of the past which have acquired cultural significance with the passing of time.
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