From intangible to tangible. Artisan Skills and Traditional Crafts for Preserving Venice's Built Heritage

Venice can be regarded as a test bed for any preservative strategy; since its origins, it had to withstand hostile environmental conditions, such as an unstable soil, the overflowing tide and rising damp. Hence, traditional materials and techniques are the result of a thousand-year old selection improving their duration. Yet, since the end of the Nineteenth century, historical surfaces are being progressively replaced by short-lasting new plasters, following the trend of a systematic refurbishment, meant to maximize eco-nomic output with disregard of the good practices. Since tourism became the main factor of a social, cultural and architectural transformation, a strong decrease of local population and craftmanship caused the loss of know-how, leading to an irreversible decline and low-quality interventions. This is the reason of re-enhancing traditional materials and building skills, trusting on Venetian crafts-men, the repositories of the local material culture, the intangible know-how that can give a crucial help in protecting the tangible built Heritage in present times.