Dal Paesaggio archeologico al patrimonio architettonico. Conoscenza e interventi di restauro del sito di Elaiussa Sebaste (Turchia)

The paper presents the results of the research activity aimed at conserving and restoring the archaeological landscape, urban site, and Roman monuments of Elaiussa Sebaste, Turkey. The study aimed to develop a system of knowledge and an approach to the conservation of the archaeological heritage compatible with the site’s culture in terms of specialist training and management tools. This knowledge system investigated the transformations of the urban area from the preclassical to the late antique period. It proposed and implemented the restoration and enhancement of several monuments, including the theatre, the agora, the Byzantine Palace, and the northeastern necropolis. The research has highlighted several critical issues, including the divergence between the timing of knowledge and tourism valorisation, understood as the economic exploitation of the area, and the relationship between the objectives set by Turkish conservation bodies and the reconstructive models of the ruins. Hence, the delicate task of warning of the risks of practices already in place by proposing interventions compatible with the cultural significance of the heritage, thus including local society as the main subject of the use and management over time of the assets. Therefore, involving the population in the choices of enhancement and communicating the processes of construction and transformation by reviving those social, anthropological, and cultural values that have substantiated places and monuments, seeking to broaden the context of reference as much as possible as an essential corollary of exemplary design.