Design and Cultural Heritage: New Senses and Sensibilities of Archaeological Sites

The paper is a reflection on the relationship between design and cultural heritage in the specific cases of the archaeological sites. Far from entering into problems of museography, the paper tries to find out the new senses and sensibilities located at the intersection of the lines that link together ruins, public spaces, technologies and design, seeking to understand if there’s a way to re-discover a value for the ruins through an interpretative perspective based on integration, interaction and narrativity. Starting from reading the contemporary conditions of the archaeological areas in their relationship with public space and the role of the digital technologies, the article analyses the new forms of dialogue with the past that substitute the traditional concepts of transformation and rehabilitation, following the idea of expandability applied to the relationship between design and physical-social context. Making reference to some design experiences in archaeological areas, the paper finally attempts to trace a new plausible sensibility in the processes of urban renewal and cultural heritage enhancement.