The state and the protection of historic buildings: France, England and Italy

The talk will look at state policies to preserve ‘historic buildings’. Such buildings are often linked to conceptions of a national past and attempts to construct and use such a past in the present. They can form part of national identity, evoke strong emotions and offer powerful national symbols, and form part of state strategies of nation-building. They are also a large part of the growing ‘heritage industry’ that is built around interest in a nation’s past. Thus the talk will examine how and why states have protected historic buildings, and especially reasons linked to state building and nationalism. It will compare three countries with rather different national histories and developments- Britain, France and Italy.