Dissonant Heritage and War. Conservation and Communication of a Difficult Legacy

This article presents the Co.Co.War project as a critical and operational framework for addressing dissonant heritage shaped by war, political violence, and manipulative narratives. It examines how architectural heritage becomes divisive through conflicts of interpretation, identity politics, and distorted communication, leading to neglect, rejection, or destruction. Drawing on a transnational matrix of case studies and experimental labs in Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Armenia, the research proposes value-oriented conservation and communication strategies. By integrating material preservation with cultural supervision and participatory approaches, the project redefines conservation as a tool for mediation, dialogue, and the re-signification of difficult legacies.