Spirit of the Place

Please note that this is the published version of the 'ISC Sense of Place' document below. The review process required some significant editing changes from the original.

The term “sense of place” has become a ubiquitous piece of phraseology in contemporary Western culture; however its meanings are as diverse as its use is common. The primary aim of this paper is to clarify more precisely what the term “sense of place” actually means, in response to the driving thesis that its present multifarious use renders the term so amorphous in meaning, that its power of meaning is lost. First, to corroborate this supposition, examples of the term’s multiple uses are portrayed, including its conflation with the related terms “spirit of place” and genius loci. Next a genealogical examination of the term ”sense of place” is undertaken, beginning with its roots in the Roman terms genius and genius loci. The historical circumstances relating to the introduction of the term genius into the English language during the 14th century and genius loci during the 18th century are then appraised. The next phase of appraisal is the late 19th century emergence of the terms “sense of place” and “spirit of place” within British and American literature, and their ostensible connections and conflations with genius and genius loci. Beyond this, a post-1900 linguistic shift is investigated whereby the older terms of genius and genius loci are gradually superseded by sense of place and spirit of place. The final section proposes some practical ramifications in being more precise in the use of each of these terms and distinct definitions are suggested for each to demonstrate that such clarifying differentiation and precision of meaning is possible.

Il restauro dei giardini e parchi storici, oggetto di un corso attivato presso la Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni architettonici e del paesaggio a partire dal 2013, rappresenta un tema estremamente attuale nell'ambito della conservazione e tutela del patrimonio architettonico e storico-artistico. Nel volume, si è voluto dar conto dell'approccio multidisciplinare necessario per definire correttamente l'iter progettuale della pratica restaurativa. In Italia, il tema dei giardini e dei parchi, all’interno della città storica, inizia a essere oggetto di attenzione solo a partire dalla fine del XIX secolo, con l’Unificazione dello Stato, insieme alla consapevolezza di conservare e valorizzare le antiche vestigia. La realizzazione e la riorganizzazione del verde urbano s’intensifica, però, a partire dai primi decenni del XX secolo nell’ambito delle programmazioni urbanistiche rese necessarie per le esigenze di Roma capitale. Si analizzano, quindi i documenti internazionali relativi alle ‘questioni’ del verde, dei giardini e del paesaggio, partendo compresa la Carta del restauro dei giardini storici di Firenze, del 1981, per arrivare alle più recenti acquisizioni come il Document on historic urban public parks, del 2017.
Restoration of historical gardens and parks, subject of a post-graduate course within the Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni architettonici e del paesaggio at the University of Rome La Sapienza, is the main theme of this collection of essays. The topic will be analysed from different perspectives representing the variety of fields related to it. In Italy, the theme of gardens and parks, within the historic city, begins to be the object of attention only from the end of the nineteenth century, with the Unification of the State, together with the awareness of preserving and enhancing the ancient ruins. The construction and reorganization of urban greenery intensified, however, starting from the early decades of the twentieth century in the context of urban planning of Rome as the capital of the State. The essay, then, analyze the international documents relating to the ‘issues’ of greenery, gardens and landscape, starting with the Charter for the restoration of historic gardens in Florence (1981) to arrive at the most recent acquisitions such as the Document on historic urban public parks (2017).

The Spirit of the Place is the emotional response to the Place; it’s an abstract, wordless form of understanding; this is why it is unattainable, and yet it can be destroyed. Technology provides increasingly precise data, but its interpretation depends on how we perceive the Place and what we want to perceive in the Place. Nationalism and Cultural pride strongly influence what we want to perceive in the Place. Transmission of World Heritage to future generations relies heavily on “telling the Story;” to reveal not only historic data, but also the greatness of the human spirit in its struggle for perfection and in all its weakness. We may conclude that, trying to homogenize an idea in order to keep it politically correct leads to ambiguity and relativity, and might dangerously dilute the message.