The frictional geography of cultural heritage. Grounding the Faro Convention into urban experience in Forlì, Italy

Cultural heritage is nurtured by, and nurtures, space and place dynamics that are multidimensional and ambiguous. In this paper I engage with a ‘frictional geography’ of heritage-making to question the principles and practices of the Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society of the Council of Europe, a charter predicated on the principle of citizens’ inclusion and co-operation. The friction metaphor has emerged in the last decade in social and cultural geographies, bringing together globalisation, mobilities and more-than-human approaches. I will refer to an ethnographic study based in Forlì, Italy, where the local administration has been supporting a Faro process from 2016 to 2018. Reflecting on this case study, I ask: What happens once the principles of local democracy and heritage co-construction are enacted on the ground of everyday urban experiences? What frictions, conflicts and ambiguities arise? The case of Forlì serves as a useful illustration of how diverse acceptances of the same heritage-making process coexist and ‘rub’ against one another. A ‘frictional geography’ approach might also be employed to explore other place-making processes, especially those accompanied by the claim of the right of citizens to participate, on the one hand, and increasing societal conflicts, on the other.