Il Paesaggio Urbano come Bene Culturale. Il dibattito in Italia e in Francia: 1945-2015.

This study aims to trace the roots of the notion of “urban landscape" within the debate on the protection of historic cities during the second half of the 20th century. The analysis is carried out through a comparison between Italy and France, and covers three main areas: the genealogy of the concept of urban landscape, its variations, and its relation with the theory of the historic centre; the development of legislation and its connection with the cultural debate; the outcomes in urban planning practice. To analyse the theoretical debate on urban landscape the main sources include the most important Italian and French professional periodicals. Urban planning outcomes are analyzed through two case studies on Turin and Lyon, developed by archive research. Although the French and Italian discourses of the post world war II decades have been particularly interesting for the cultural elaboration about preservation and promotion of urban heritage, both Italian and French notions of urban landscape didn’t succeed in reaching substantial outcomes in term of legislation.