Strategic role of the Cultural Heritage Quality Management(c) in valorization Processes regarding Historic Real Estate and Industrial Heritage

Cultural Heritage and its manifestations is a capital that can be invested to create social, economic and cultural richness. An adequate and attractive rehabilitation or conversion, when needed, of Historic Real Estate and Industrial Heritage require sensibility, quality of the interventions, and the capability to take the "right decision". The social acceptance of the interventions made on these buildings is crucial to the success of the project, also in marketing terms. The process involves: - the recognition of Significance; - the importance of Conservation or Re-functionalization; - the transmission of the Message conveyed; - the rational mounting of Services. All these variables can be measured in terms of balance of use and conservation. In the case of Cultural Heritage (which normally includes historical buildings and industrial heritage) a specific tool is needed, due to the fact that we deal with not standardized effects and premises. This is why HERITY and its HGES certification were created in 1994. The HGES certification, traditionally applied to historical monuments, museums, archeological sites, libraries and archives, was recently applied with success to public and private real estate (e.g.: Castles) and industrial buildings (e.g.: the industrial city of Ivrea, province of Turin). Examples are available about the use of the HGES for ocomparing the efficacy of different projects; oincreasing the economic value of public and private buildings of cultural interest; omaking economy of scale and reduction of costs in towns and villages, etc.