Genius loci: between handicrafts and local development Marilena Vecco Cultural Management: Science and Education 2 No. 2 (2018) https://doi.org/10.30819/cmse.2-2.03     pp: 43-55     2018-12-14

Genius loci: between handicrafts and local development

Stichworte/keywords: Genius loci, handicrafts, local development, cultural heritage, creative milieu

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Abstract
From a cultural perspective, handicrafts are among the resources that can be mobilised locally and play a key role in defining a place. In fact, they may help to delimit, structure, and identify a place within a network and/or a social and cultural system. Handicrafts can therefore play a significant contribution in strongly characterising places and their genius loci with regard to other places. This paper aims to define the role of handicrafts in the process of place construction, and how they can contribute as a resource in the creative milieu to support local development. In our approach, handicrafts as cultural capital are considered as a product (output) and as a resource (input). Without neglecting the former, through which the craft of a place is directly exploited, we will focus on handicrafts as part of the production process along two different lines. Handicrafts as an asset - participating in the production process of goods - are used to achieve a specific goal and have a precise cultural, social, and economic value. Therefore, it is important to understand how this resource - the specific know-how of a place - becomes an asset. Secondly, handicrafts affect and influence other resources.

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