Congress on the National Catalogue of Cultural Properties

Pubblicato il 12/12/2013

As implementation now forges ahead for the SIGEC Web cataloguing system and the “Regional Cataloguing Sourcebook”, it is also appropriate return to a moment of reflection on the grounding mission of the National Catalogue of Cultural Property, as laid down by the Law on Cultural Heritage and Landscape.

The national catalogue plays the central role in providing information for the protection, safeguard and enhancement of cultural properties, both individually and in context, through a well-defined framework of state and regional relations.  It represents a knowledge instrument fundamental to all processes for identifying cultural heritage: the field of coverage is vast, with the catalogue describing each property, its content and its relationships to others in the territory, thus offering an indispensable basis for continuous dialogue with other knowledge and planning tools for urban and landscape contexts.

The ICCD is charged with the leadership role in providing the methodological strategies and technical management for the general catalogue, and thus guides the development of information-technology instruments such as SIGEC Web (www.sigecweb.beniculturali.it) and the “Regional Cataloguing Sourcebook” on (www.iccd.beniculturali.it/compendio/). The national code on cultural and landscape heritage sets a demanding mandate and a complex framework in regards to cataloguing of cultural properties, for the range of state and regional authorities called to participate and for the numerous functions that the catalogue is expected to fulfil. Such complexity can only be resolved by a network, a community of agencies that interact, establish relations and flows, and contribute dynamically to the management, growth and evolution of a unified cataloguing system. In this context, SIGEC Web and the Sourcebook are instruments for the identification and growth of cooperation between institutions, permitting joint management of their various individual instruments and services for systematic knowledge of cultural heritage.

In the first day of the congress, the Secretary-General for the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and the Director of the ICCD will introduce the themes for the participants’ attention. 

This will be immediately followed by a session on a series of key words in cataloguing – “knowledge and safeguarding, development, state-regional relations, training, strategies, technology, resources and employment” – with papers presented by MiBAC directors-general, representatives of the State-Regions Conference and experts in the implementation, research and education sectors.

A second session on “Dialogue and cooperation between information systems” will present experiences from the managers of projects implemented by the ministry and many of the regional authorities active in cataloguing.

The day will close with a round-table debate on “The development of the national catalogue”.

Day two will be dedicated to four technical seminars guided by experts from the ICCD and other cataloguing agencies, on the themes:

 • The Regional Cataloguing Sourcebook: a Network of institutions:

• Cataloguing standards: new norms and terminological instruments

• The SIGEC Web databank: data management and interoperability

• The SIGEC Web cataloguing module: cataloguing cooperation

The congress is open to all civil servants, professionals and students with activities or interests in the cataloguing of cultural heritage. Registration is available on line, however “late comers” can also be accommodated during the congress.

Downloads