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. However, the document is now seen by some as outdated, representing Modernist views opposed to reconstruction. Reconstruction is now cautiously accepted by UNESCO in exceptional circumstances if it seeks to reflect a pattern of use or cultural practice that sustains cultural value, and is based on complete documentation without reliance on conjecture. The change in attitude can be marked by the reconstruction in 2015 of the Sufi mausoleums at the Timbuktu World Heritage Site in Mali after their destruction in 2012.
Historic background
Athens Charter 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:
to establish organizations for restoration advice to ensure projects are reviewed with knowledgeable criticism to establish national legislation to preserve historic sites to rebury excavations which were not to be restored. to allow the use of modern techniques and materials in restoration work. to place historical sites under custodial protection. to protect the area surrounding historic sites. 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.
First International Congress of Architects and Specialists of Historic Buildings 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 countries which still lack a central organization for the protection of historic buildings provide for the establishment of such an authority, the creation of an international assembly of architects and specialists of historic buildings should be considered, a specialized professional training of all categories of personnel should be promoted so as to secure highly qualified workmanship and that remuneration should be commensurate with such qualifications, the hygrometric problems relating to historic buildings should be discussed in a symposium, contemporary artists should be requested to contribute to the decoration of monuments, close cooperation should be established among architects and archeologists, architects and town-planners cooperate so as to secure integration of historic buildings into town planning. 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.
Second International Congress of Architects and Specialists of Historic Buildings 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 future generations with authenticity being 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.
Venice Charter Text
Definitions 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. Article 2. The conservation and restoration of monuments must have recourse to all the sciences and techniques which can contribute to the study and safeguarding of the architectural heritage.
Aim Article 3. The intention in conserving and restoring monuments is to safeguard them no less as works of art than as historical evidence.
Conservation Article 4. It is essential to the conservation of monuments that they be maintained on a permanent basis. Article 5. The conservation of monuments is always facilitated by making use of them for some socially useful purpose. Such use is therefore desirable but it must not change the lay-out or decoration of the building. It is within these limits only that modifications demanded by a change of function should be envisaged and may be permitted. Article 6. The conservation of a monument implies preserving a setting which is not out of scale. Wherever the traditional setting exists, it must be kept. No new construction, demolition or modification which would alter the relations of mass and color must be allowed. Article 7. A monument is inseparable from the history to which it bears witness and from the setting in which it occurs. The moving of all or part of a monument cannot be allowed except where the safeguarding of that monument demands it or where it is justified by national or international interest of paramount importance. Article 8. Items of sculpture, painting or decoration which form an integral part of a monument may only be removed from it if this is the sole means of ensuring their preservation.
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