This session organised by the Cultural Heritage Working Group at the EUI, will offer the audience a chance to hear from three senior members of the UNESCO office for the Municipality of Florence. The Office is instrumental in devising management plans and facilitating local collaborations for the preservation of the World Heritage site 'The Historic Centre of Florence'. The presentation by the speakers will be followed by a dialogue with the audience.
Carlo Francini is the site manager of the UNESCO World Heritage site Historic Center of Florence . Carlo is an art historian by training and has published multiple essays, monographs, and curated exhibitions dedicated to museology, the history of art between the 1500s and 1900s and on the subject of the management of UNESCO World Heritage sites. In his long-standing career in heritage management, Carlo has served crucial roles, acting as a key mediator between private local actors and international bodies such as the UNESCO. In 2005, Carlo took up the role of leading the UNESCO Office of the Municipality of Florence. He continues to occupy this role. From 2012 till 2016, he served as a member of the ICOMOS Italy board from 2012 to 2016. It was under his able leadership that the city of Florence hosted the Joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Advisory Mission. Today, he is a member of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno and a member of the scientific committee of ‘Casa Buonarroti’. Carlo has been instrumental in forging partnerships between academic and policy communities belonging to field of heritage protection. In 2015, he began coordinating the Heritage Research Lab of the UNESCO office in collaboration with the University of Firenze. For his extraordinary services to the field of heritage protection, Carlo was honored with the title ‘Knight of the Order of Merit’ by the Italian Republic.
Alessia Montacchini holds a degree in World Heritage Studies from the Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg. Since 2018, she has been working as a research scholar at HeRe_Lab (Heritage Research) set up by the UNESCO Office of the Municipality of Florence and the University of Florence. At the lab, Alessia is responsible for the execution of Heritage Impact Assessments. She also coordinates the preparation of the Management Plans for the Historic Centre of Florence.
Loredana Rita Scuto is an emerging heritage professional with academic and professional experience in Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Azerbaijan, and Austria. She holds degrees in Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts Management, and World Heritage Studies and Cultural Heritage. Ms. Scuto interned at the World Heritage Evaluation Unit of ICOMOS International Secretariat in Paris and later joined the ICOMOS team for the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee held in Azerbaijan. Loredana is currently a research scholar at HeRe_Lab (Heritage Research).