Relive Matera: UNESCO experience dawns on conservation of China's cultural relics

An overview of the city of Matera. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

What's Matera's current status in Italy?

Matera has become a national and international tourist attraction. At present, 4,000 people have come back to the city. Other houses are undergoing restoration work. It is the most important example of urban rehabilitation in the Mediterranean.

Matera won the candidacy, against the most important and beautiful cities of Italy, for being the European Capital of Culture for 2019. This crowns a success that started with the UNESCO inscription and the new vision and narrative developed for the candidature.

Are there any universal practices that China can borrow from Matera's experience? Could you give us some examples?

China has so many well restored extraordinary places. Take Lijang in Yunnan province and Luohe in Henan province as examples. But sometimes the rebuilding activities are too heavy like some ancient quarters of Beijing. Each situation is different. But when it is possible, it is better to keep the authentic fabric and to restore instead of rebuilding.

In other situations, preserve the landscape is necessary to assure an economic return to the habitant (like the wonderful landscape of the terraced fields of Honghe in Yunnan). But if we increase the agriculture production with industrialisation we risk destroying the place. The solution in Italy has been to increase the value of typical products while exalting the variety and quality of the original character, turning it into a heritage place. The typical food production safeguards are possible thanks to the maintenance of traditional techniques in soil management. The most refined production houses are proud to list the traditional techniques they use in their manufacturing methods and the success of so many companies are actually due to the capacity to incorporate tradition into their processes.