From heritage issues to intentional destruction: contemporary Mostar and the Partisan memorial cemetery of Bogdan Bogdanović

The essay proposes a reflection on heritage protection and preservation in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This city appears extremely informative to inspire a discussion on problems related to dissonant heritage and appropriate strategies for the protection and preservation of monuments in a context still affected by war and cultural conflicts. Indeed, in recent years, the city of Mostar has been the scene of the most important international recognition i.e., UNESCO's inscription of the ancient city and Stari Most on the World Heritage List and, at the same time, of rejection, of new constructions and vandalization and destruction of heritage. Among these intentional destructions, the article will investigate the recent devastation suffered by the Partisan Memorial Cemetery built in the late 1960s by Bogdan Bogdanović, occurred in May 2022. The monument, after decades of neglect, was recently destroyed and vandalized and now awaits a new season of restoration or reconstruction. The case of Mostar thus stands as an extremely interesting example for reflecting on the complexity of heritage preservation in postconflict and culturally divided contexts