Introduzione alla città multietnica come patrimonio del mondo mediterraneo / An introduction to the multiethnic city as heritage of the Mediterranean world

The paper frames the history and memories of multiethnic city of the Mediterranean world as a research strand for new urban history developments and critical studies on cultural heritage. It deals with this research perspectives by focusing on the critical approach to circumstances, significance and values following the diversity as intrinsic factor of the multiethnicity, as well the consequences of such an occulted memory in terms of cultural loss. The state of the art is discussed as a starting point that also needs to be checked by a postcolonial reflection. In the purpose of new research paradigms for the complex, in some case controversial, identification and definition of multiethnic heritage as a plural legacy, the paper also introduces a comparative perspective with established approaches to the recent world of globalization.