Cultural heritage and territorial development: a comparative analysis between Italy and Morocco

Etymologically, the word culture derives from "cultivating", particularly when referred to a territory; on the semantic level, referred to people, it expresses the essential care to develop the system of values that are part of the culture. On the other hand cultural heritage, which is currently subject of an intense academic debate, must be interpreted as the sign of the cultural identity of a people, as a testimony of its history and its art. In this definition cultural heritage, inserted in the natural environment of the landscape, underlines the global and unitary nature of the concept of "Environment", referring to its components presented both in interaction and in interdependence, and, consequently, considered essential for its very existence. At the same time landscape and cultural heritage, within the framework of this definition, become an economic, ecological, political and social resource, the foundation of a collective identity. In this context, the present study using an interdisciplinary methodology, focus on the historical stratification, considered as a fundamental characteristic of Mediterranean cities, in order to develop a path of analysis and experimentation able to combine knowledge, communication, use and enhancement of places and of the tangible and intangible cultural assets present in them. Specifically, starting from a research experience on the urban landscape aimed at telling the story of the city of Naples, we propose an innovative comparative analysis on the enhancement of the cultural heritage of the holy city of Moulay Idriss in Morocco. In both places in fact, the understanding of the urban systems' historical stratification makes it possible to bring out elements of quality and development of the overall urban environment and of the communities that inhabit it.