THOUGHTS ON THE PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE1 LEGAL PROTECTION OF ENDANGERED SITES.

“ … the innermost meaning of a work is only comprehended at the end of its reading, the understanding of a culture at the time of its completion … as Minerva’s Owl that flies away at the Twilight...” Hegel The philosophical concept of Renaissance Humanism that made man the centre of the universe, while replacing the medieval Theo centrism, proposes the “Urbis ” as holder of the “spiritus loci ” of the course of generations. Viewed as such, the city is the central theme of all disciplines, that deal with Cultural Heritage and is in its entirety considered an historical register. In their core historical centers concentrate almost all listed monuments, which for their comprehensive reports require investigation and analysis of urban functions per sector. Thus, social organization, neighborhoods, dwellings and inhabitants, infrastructure, traffic, transport and circulation, work and commerce and the cultural and leisure areas must be part of the maintenance, preservation and restoration studies carried out by the public agencies, often supported by non governmental organizations. The idea of preserving the evidences of Humanity since pre-history goes back to times immemorial. It is believed that the prehistoric mortuary monuments – mementum –bore witness to the spiritual desire of the first sedentary human groups settled along the banks of the large rivers all over the world, to perpetuate their memory. In this sense ICOMOS – International Council on Monuments and Sites –instated in 1965, looks back to the origins of Humanity with its mandates. From the Megalithic Era to Modern Times, along the Centuries its predecessors were, in the East, Asia, (before Christ). I