The Revista CPC is a scientific journal published by the Cultural Preservation Center of the University of São Paulo, a body of the Office of the Provost for Culture and Extension.The journal focuses on the discussion and reflection of issues related to cultural heritage in its many aspects: heritage preservation; identification and documentation of cultural assets; heritage education; cultural references and social memory; museum institutions; archives, memory and information centers; collections and holdings; conservation and restoration. Published semiannually, the journal features original articles, reviews, interviews, reports, and testimonials. Each year, it publishes a special themed edition, such as a Dossier. Since its creation in 2005, Revista CPC has been regularly dedicated to promoting research and disseminating knowledge in the field of cultural heritage. Published exclusively in digital format, it became part of the USP Journal Portal in 2014.The metadata of Revista CPC is indexed in: Latindex - Sistema Regional de Información en Línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina, el Caribe, España y Portugal; Periódicos CAPES - Portal of Journals of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES/MEC); Journals for Free - Directory of Open Access Journals; LivRe - Open Access Journals (CNEN-MCTIC); Sociology Source Ultimate - Ebsco. Registered in Diadorim -Directory of Editorial Policies of Brazilian Scientific Journals. Member of the collaborative network LatinRev - Red Latinoamericana de Revistas Académicas en Ciencias Socialies y Humanidades (FLACSO ARGENTINA). A2 classification by the Qualis Journals evaluation system – Sucupira Platform/CAPES Quadrennial 2017-2020.
Universidade de São Paulo. Pró-Reitoria de Cultura e Extensão Universitária.
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Editorial: o patrimônio material em múltiplos ângulos
Com satisfação publicamos a edição corrente, que coincide com a finalização da gestão reitoral (2022-2025). Ao longo deste período, o olhar para o patrimônio cultural manteve-se atento às manifestações da sociedade civil e às demandas institucionais. Os artigos reunidos nesta edição coadunam com um espectro amplo de possibilidades, mas olhando particularmente para o patrimônio material. Da conservação à formação, do mobiliário ao inventário, do nacional ao latino-americano, da teoria à prática, do edifício ao planejamento urbano, chegando ao patrimônio natural, o conjunto de textos apresenta ao leitor pesquisas de grande interesse à área.
Copyright (c) 2026 Flávia Brito do Nascimento https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The place of heritage in urban planning inCuritiba (PR): instruments and conflicts in therevitalization of the historic sector (1965-1983)
This article investigates the relationship between urban planning and heritage policies in Curitiba, focusing on the creation of the city’s Historic Sector. The research covers the period from 1965 to 1983, beginning with the urban plans developed by architects such as Jorge Wilheim, Jaime Lerner, and Cyro Corrêa Lyra, together with the team from the Curitiba Institute for Research and Urban Planning (IPPUC). This process extends to the implementation of these plans during Jaime Lerner’s first two terms as mayor. During this period, Curitiba’s downtown area underwent significant transformations through the Historic Sector Revitalization Plan. The interventions included improvements to road systems, the creation of pedestrian-only areas, and the redevelopment of spaces dedicated to tourism, culture, and leisure. These actions took place within a political and economic context favorable to large-scale urban projects during the military regime and formed part of a broader strategy that combined political, technical, and city marketing objectives aimed at attracting investment and strengthening tourism. However, the process generated tensions and conflicts, such as the exclusion of historically valuable areas from protection zones, demolitions, and the displacement of residents and traditional activities. The article analyzes these dynamics to understand the role of cultural heritage in Curitiba’s urban policies. The research is based on a literature review and the analysis of primary and secondary documents, aiming to contribute to the debate on the preservation of historic areas in Brazil and their integration into urban planning.
Copyright (c) 2026 Moises Julierme Stival Soares https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Adobe structures conservation in the built heritage of Tocantins: Nossa Senhora do Carmo Church
The Cultural Heritage of Tocantins reflects a significant period in the history of the formation of Brazil, bringing together constructions representing the gold cycle in the northern region of the former Captaincy of Goiás. These material testimonies were built from clay, using adobe as a construction technique. Intending to preserve this historical heritage, the Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, located in Monte do Carmo, was selected as a case study to identify the main pathological problems that affect adobe structural walls, with humidity as the leading cause of damage. Through the analysis of this relevance building to the cultural identity of Tocantins, sought grounded solutions on scientific studies and research, resulting in intervention guidelines to treatment the analising damages aiming the rehabilitation of historic buildings constructed using vernacular adobe techniques. The importance of this study lies in its ability to promote effective conservation strategies, ensuring the integrity and perpetuation of traditional buildings in central Brazil and the cultural values associated with them, contributing to the dissemination of this still little-known historical heritage.
Copyright (c) 2026 Gabriela Pontes Monteiro, Dr. Eudes de Arimatéa Rocha https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The authorized adjustment of natural heritage: an analysis of federal practices forthe protection of natural areas of culturalinterest
The objective of this article is to analyze federal public policies for the preservation of natural areas of cultural interest, with particular interest in the last two decades, when what is called in this work the authorized adjustment of natural heritage was structured within preservationist practice. For this analysis, a set of methodologies were used that involve bibliographic research, documentary research in the archives of the federal cultural heritage agency and qualitative field research. As a result, we highlight the observation of a practice that seeks to exclude natural areas from the patrimonialization processes, the relaxation of the protection of natural areas already protected and the attempt to delegate natural heritage as an exclusive subject of environmental legislation and agencies.
Copyright (c) 2026 Danilo Celso Pereira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The participation of civil society in cultural heritage: the experience of portuguese organizations Pró-Évora and Muralha
As a result of the expansion of the concept of cultural heritage, new social actors have become involved in the processes of patrimonialization and preservation of cultural assets, including organized civil society, which seeks to exercise its citizenship in promoting, defending, and preserving its cultural heritage. With these considerations in mind, this text explores the trajectories and experiences of two local Portuguese heritage associations: the Pro-Évora Group (Évora) and the Muralha Association (Guimarães). Through documentary and bibliographical research and semi-structured interviews, this study examines the main action strategies, and challenges of associations in the field of cultural heritage at municipal level in Portugal. The experiences show how associativism is a transformative model in heritage management, promoting social participation and achieving meaningful results. The research provides input for other realities seeking to strengthen the participation of civil society in the preservation of their cultural heritage.
Copyright (c) 2026 Manuela Ilha Silva, Adelino Gonçalves https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Specialized training in conservation and restoration of heritage buildings in Cuba: ten years of the National Center For Conservation, Restoration And Museology (CENCREM), 1982-1991
The preservation of architectural monuments in Havana, Cuba, had its origins in the first quarter of the 20th century. Since then, a complex process of formation and consolidation of a field of restoration and conservation in Cuba was unleashed, without specialized training among the architects of the time. This article seeks to reflect on the importance of specialized and scientific training of Cuban architects. Based on a historical study of the role of the National Center for Conservation, Restoration and Museology (CENCREM), considered in this work as a fundamental precedent for the development of this discipline in Cuba. The CENCREM (1982-1991) is analyzed not only as a center for training, but also as part of an institutional network stimulated by international cooperation for the development of regional training projects in the field of heritage. The development of an international collaborative framework towards the preservation of cultural heritage of humanity, the aim to internationalize specialized restoration training, and the Venice Charter (1964) were events that paved the way for the establishment of the National Center for Restoration, Conservation, and Museology in Cuba (CENCREM). This center fulfilled its role as a reference for international cooperation in restoration and conservation. It promoted the ideas and principles of the Venice Charter. New horizons opened up in the 1980s for the development of architectural conservation and restoration in Cuba, with a greater historical, social, cultural and scientific notion of interventions in the preexistence.
Copyright (c) 2026 Maite Hernández Alfonso, Natália Miranda Vieira-de-Araújo; Sergio Raymant Arencibia Iglesias https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Forgotten heritage: the traditional woodenhouses in the urban space of Curitiba
Traditional wooden houses, whose construction technique follows the pattern of vertical boards and battens, have been part of Curitiba's landscape since the last decades of the 19th century. This architectural pattern results from the convergence of the technical knowledge of immigrants from various ethnic backgrounds and local inhabitants, in addition to the advent of sawmills. Despite the popularity of these constructions due to the low cost of wood, throughout the 20th century, Curitiba's municipal regulations pushed these residences to areas far from the city center. Although the lambrequins and vertical boards hold significance for the regional identity of Paraná's capital, traditional wooden houses continuously disappear from the urban landscape. Based on this issue, this article analyzes the trajectory of these buildings as urban heritage at the municipal, state, and federal levels.
Copyright (c) 2026 Núbia Parol https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Anna Maria beyond Niemeyer: National Congress furniture (1957-1977)
The National Congress Palace in Brasília has furniture collections as exquisite as its modernist architecture. Between the late 1950s and 1970s, Anna Maria Niemeyer led these personalized projects for the legislative palace program. The well-deserved notoriety of architect Oscar Niemeyer, Anna's father, as the author of the architectural project, tarnished the valuable collaboration of other professionals who were instrumental in the palace's heritage. This article aims to shed light on the designer's contribution through the furniture collections de-veloped for the National Congress in these decades. Methodologically, the his-toriographical investigation of this modern furniture uses the original projects (architecture and furniture), administrative processes and articles by Anna in the magazine Módulo. This examination revealed two interior periods: the sim-ple moment of inauguration in 1960, populated by matching furniture, and the moment of revisiting these interiors with the art furniture of the late 1970s. If Oscar's exterior architecture remained monumental over the course of these two initial decades, the interior space became monumentalized, with furniture playing a leading role. It is necessary to locate designer Anna Maria Niemeyer in the historiography of modern Brazilian furniture and, as Maria Cecília Loschiavo (2017) states, to make due historical reparation for her contribution.
Copyright (c) 2026 Fabio Chamon Melo, Ana Elisabete de Almeida Medeiros, Flaviana Barreto Lira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Editorial: a Revista CPC e os 20 anos do Centro de Preservação Cultural no Bixiga
A Revista CPC foi fundada 2005 como parte das atividades do Centro de Preservação Cultural da Universidade de São Paulo, sediado na Casa de Dona Yayá. Organizado como Comissão Assessora da Reitoria, ganhou status de Centro no começo dos anos 2000, quando efetiva a proposta de mudança para a casa no bairro do Bixiga, região central de São Paulo. Com nova sede e regimento, o centro ampliou a sua missão institucional para além da USP e seu patrimônio cultural. Com cursos, publicações, práticas de educação patrimonial com a comunidade, oficinas e seminários, o CPC USP consolidou-se ao longo destes mais de 20 anos como referência nacional para o patrimônio. As publicações sobre o patrimônio surgiram ainda na década de 1990 como possibilidades de divulgação científica e sistematização de dados institucionais. Numa era ainda sem internet, os títulos das coleções Cadernos CPC e Estudos CPC circularam amplamente. A Revista CPC foi criada em 2005 em meio digital na gestão da professora Ana Lanna neste primeiro momento de abertura da casa no Bixiga. A proposta de um periódico de carácter científico, indexado e revisto por pares ganhou impulso, passando a receber artigos de maneira mais intensa na última década, quando se estabeleceu como um dos principais periódicos nacionais sobre o tema. A 38ª edição da Revista CPC marca, junto a outras iniciativas celebrativas realizadas em 2024, o papel do CPC USP na disseminação da produção científica nos temas da preservação em suas diversas possibilidades temáticas.
Copyright (c) 2025 Flávia Brito do Nascimento https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The gardener and the inseparability of tangible and intangible in the historic garden
Every cultural asset embodies a dimension of intangibility, manifested through the actions, traditions, and emotions that underpin its recognized heritage value. In historic gardens, this intangibility is particularly fragile due to their inherently perishable and renewable nature. Consequently, the extent to which the gardener’s ongoing interventions contribute to the condition of these gardens as heritage assets emerges as a critical question. This study emphasizes the need to formally acknowledge and legitimize the gardener’s role within the heritage framework, recognizing that intangible dimensions are integral to the safeguarding of cultural assets, encompassing categories such as living human treasures, traditional crafts and know-how, and master artisans. A comparative analysis of the gardener’s role in historic gardens alongside established arrangements for tangible and intangible heritage assets highlights that the gardener’s contribution surpasses that of a mere craftsman, positioning them as an essential component of the garden’s continued preservation.
Copyright (c) 2026 Wilson de Barros Feitosa Júnior, Ana Rita Sá Carneiro https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Reflections on the III Seminário Patrimônio Cultural Universitário
The III Seminário Patrimônio Cultural Universitário took place in September 2024 in São Paulo, organized by the Center of Cultural Preservation of the University of São Paulo (CPC-USP), an entity of USP’s Office of Culture and Extension under the leadership of Professors Dr. Flávia Brito do Nascimento and Dr. Joana Mello de Carvalho Silva. The event aimed to foster discussions on the identification, management, research, dissemination, and preservation of cultural assets tied to university life and experiences, based on the diverse interpretations and valuations of everyday university life. The Seminar brought together over 130 participants over four days of programming, including researchers, professionals in the field, students, and other interested individuals. Attendees engaged in discussions through conferences featuring guests from Latin American universities, panel discussions involving professionals and faculty members from Brazilian universities working on related themes, and an open call for papers that received more than 100 submissions from across Brazil. This report provides an overview of the event from the perspective of members of its Organizing Committee, along with brief reflections on the discussions raised during its execution.
Copyright (c) 2025 Matheus Bonini Machado, Rodrigo Augusto das Neves, Sofia Diogo Braga https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Destructions of architecture: heritage fragilities in times of crisis
This Dossier brings together contributions from scholars in a variety of disciplinary fields, such as fields such as architecture and urbanism, anthropology, history, geography and museology to discuss cases, stories, places and people affected by the destruction of heritage. The articles gathered here discuss multiple dimensions of the losses and meanings of heritage in the country, from management from management to inventories, from solutions to meanings, from affections and memories to traces and fragments, and finally the completeness and absence of the new materialities after the losses.
Copyright (c) 2024 Flávia Brito do Nascimento https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Graffiti murals and cultural heritage in São Paulo: omission or inadequacy?
The use of the city as a support for pictorial expression has a history in Brazil since 1970. In the city of São Paulo, it is qualified as a phenomenon, due to the quantity and quality of art exposed throughout the city, exported to other cities in Brazil and the world. Even in the face of a trajectory built by several generations, supported by public policies of incentive and promotion by different public administrations, the practice still faces conflicts with the public power, as is the case of the erasure of graffiti on 23 de Maio Avenue, in 2017. Faced with such conflicts, how has the public body responsible for the cultural heritage positioned itself and how is it justified? An analysis of the document issued by the director of the Department of Historical Heritage of São Paulo for judicial process n. 1003560-75.2017.8.26.0053, exposes the body's way of proceeding, its position in the face of the conflict and the concept of cultural heritage that justifies its actions and omissions. This concept permeates the inadequacy of street expressions to the cultural heritage regime due to its non-listing nature.
Copyright (c) 2026 Larizza Bergui de Andrade, Nadja de Carvalho Lamas, Patrícia de Oliveira Areas https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Considerations on the "Curso de Estradas professado na Escola Polytechnica do Rio de Janeiro", 1892
The present text aims to analyse the “Curso de Estradas professado na Escola Polytechnica do Rio de Janeiro”, published in 1892, one of the few records regarding the academic teaching of railways in the country. The analysis goes through the references used by the author to compose the work, revealing part of what was taken as a basis for teaching, with greater attention given to issues related to the construction of railway buildings. This investigation is justified as it pertains to the training of professionals who will work in Brazil during a time when the country would gain autonomy in relation to foreign professionals, but also because it enables the evaluation of the knowledge selected for teaching. The analysis of the course revealed the topics that students were exposed concerning railway education, as well as the origins of some of the design parameters recommended for such buildings.
Copyright (c) 2026 Tainá Maria Silva; Eduardo Romero de Oliveira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The (sub)version of industrial heritage: an approach from the practice of urban exploration in the industrial ruins of Pelotas (RS)
This study is about urban explorers and their historical experiences with regard to abandoned factories from the Zona do Porto in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a part of a research about the developed phenomenological relations between subjects from different groups and the industrial heritage, comprising distinct socioeconomic contexts. The objective for this study was to acknowledge the different versions of that historical patrimony and identify possible ways for its preservation. The following methodology was used: dialectic analysis, and the combination of visual and oral narratives. It was concluded that these historical old buildings, on their condition of heritage ruins, act as places for breathing, creativity and resignification, and also demonstrate a close relation with artistic production and counterculture.
Copyright (c) 2025 Daniela Vieira Goularte https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Jorge Machado Moreira building: inventory of materiality as strategy for preserving modern bulit heritage
In this article, we present an excerpt from the doctoral thesis recently defended at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, which proposed to discuss the preservation of modern architecture in a more comprehensive way, expanding knowledge and the necessary attribution of value to the materials and construction technologies that constitute them, expanding their significance beyond artistic value, taking into account its materiality, as a document of its own history. We apply this reflection to the Jorge Machado Moreira building, built to house the National Faculty of Architecture. Present since the first plans conceived for the University City of the former University of Brazil, it is an exquisite project conceived by architect Jorge Machado Moreira and his team, who brings to this project the experience acquired throughout his career, in particular the contact with the team that designed the Ministry of Education and Health, of which he was part, and the influence of Le Corbusier. Improved knowledge of the conformation of this building and its constituent elements presents itself as a first task for any proposal for the conservation and restoration of this building. To this end, we will present the methods and theoretical references used to inventory the building's covering materials, especially the ceramic element “lajotinha”, its characterization, deterioration process and state of conservation, as a way of creating a framework of information that serves as input for a future Conservation Management Plan for the Jorge Machado Moreira building.
Copyright (c) 2025 Patricia Cavalcante Cordeiro https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Values-Based Conservation: heritage and human rights in the Bento Rodrigues case (Brazil)
The article addresses the convergence between the fields of cultural heritage and human rights, highlighting internal and external transformations that enabled this convergence. In the context of cultural heritage, the shift from a material-based conservation perspective to a values-based conservation is fundamental, placing the human person at the center of preservation. In the case of human rights, this convergence is seen through the recognition of the need to adequately conceptualize cultural rights. Going beyond recurring themes at the intersections of human rights and heritage, this article focuses on unsustainable development as a source of human rights violations, causing harm to traditional communities and socio-environmental tragedies. As a case study, it discusses the Bento Rodrigues case in Mariana, Minas Gerais, the first locality affected by the rupture of the Fundão Dam, which was almost completely devastated, reducing 180 houses to only 22 standing. The population, present in the area for three hundred years, was hastily transferred to Mariana, resulting in the breakdown of established family and community bonds. Finally, the article highlights innovative preservation responses in the country proposed by ICOMOS/BRAZIL, based on the values-based conservation perspective.
Copyright (c) 2024 Leonardo Barci Castriota Castriota https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Museum storages and public access as a research topic: notes from a bibliographic review
In view of the growing investment in greater public participation in the dynamics of museums, we are interested in understanding ways to bring professionals, collections and visitors together. To this end, we approach aspects of museum education and communication to introduce a discussion about public access to museum storages. This is a bibliographic review study carried out in seven national and international databases with journals, theses and dissertations covering the time frame from 1970 to 2020. The refinement of the material led to a corpus consisting of 22 academic works, which were subjected to systematization and analysis. Data treatment considered the principles of categorical analysis to regroup text units under emerging categories. We sought to characterize the proposals considering institutional contexts, types of strategies, study focus and the goals of each action. As a result, it is highlighted that: the ways to access the museum storages are variable, as they are crossed by institutional conditions; the way in which audiences are seen can guide the proposals and there is an opening for a re-signification of the relation between visitors, objects and museum professionals. Regarding this last point, we highlight the importance of educational purposes and interdisciplinary planning of actions. Finally, such a study can contribute to the reflection on the meanings of preserving and disseminating cultural heritage in contemporary times.
Copyright (c) 2025 Carla Gruzman, Mayara Manhães de Oliveira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Vila Autódromo Removals Museum: communitymemory as a tool in the fight for the right tohousing
On the eve of mega international sporting events, the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, Rio de Janeiro underwent an intense territorial reformulation with a gentrifying character and a significant impact on needy communities. In this context, the Vila Autódromo community, located in Barra da Tijuca, West zone of the city, deserves to be highlighted for having resisted the political offensive of eviction carried out by the city hall. Through intense social mobilization, the community won the right to remain in the area and built a social museum, the Evictions Museum, which tells its story and denounces the violent eviction policy perpetrated by the city council during the preparation of the Olympic city.
Copyright (c) 2024 Diana Bogado https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Parque do Povo in the centrality of the São Paulo metropolis: the destruction of a popular cultural asset
A striking feature of the current production and reproduction of space in Brazilian cities has been the bulldozing of the built environment of the past at the behest of the real estate market and its relentless pursuit of profit and capital gains. Thus, the current urban dynamic is pressured by the economic power that imposes a logic of urbanization as a business. This has resulted in the removal of key pieces of evidence and landmarks of the history and daily lives of the working classes in the cities, as there is no public policy to preserve material heritage associated with the realm of popular culture. The aim of this paper is to problematize the subject matter based on the case of Parque do Povo, in São Paulo, showing how its destruction took place, which was the result of actions by the public authorities designed to serve the interests of real estate development in the new business centrality of the São Paulo metropolis.
Copyright (c) 2024 Simone Scifoni https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
What role do universities play in the world's memories?
Report on the 1st Ibero-American Meeting on University Heritage, held in May 2024 at the University of Seville and organized within the framework of the Ibero-American University Association for Postgraduate Studies (AUIP). The event brought together representatives of different universities and cultural institutions from Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries to share practices, plans and actions regarding the management and protection of university heritage, as well as references that mark their trajectories in terms of cultural heritage and its social importance.
Copyright (c) 2025 Claudia Andreoli Muniz https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Occupying heritage: current apropriations and possible restorations for the "Casa Amarela" on Consolação Street, São Paulo
This article analyzes the process of appropriation of the property known as "Casa Amarela" (Yellow House), located on Rua da Consolação, São Paulo, a site listed as cultural heritage by the municipality, aiming to support restorative actions for the property. It examines the property's occupancy history, from its origins as a wealthy residence in the early 20th century to its recent use as a cultural space, identifying the main transformations in its materiality and the values attributed by the individuals connected to it, with particular emphasis on urban art forms such as "pixo" and graffiti. Methodological procedures included bibliographic, iconographic, and documentary research on the property, as well as field visits and interviews with various stakeholders involved in its occupation. Grounded in theories and recommendations for restoration, the article discusses the contemporary reinterpretations of "Casa Amarela" by these individuals and seeks to identify how these can influence and potentially be incorporated into a possible restoration of the property. The goal is to guide physical interventions that align with the symbolic dimension of this cultural asset in today's context.
Copyright (c) 2026 Marina Chagas Brandão, Juliana Cunha Barreto https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Bixiga in dispute: environment, culture, memory and real estate interest
Bixiga is currently experiencing a critical situation that threatens the preservation of what constitutes its most unmistakable cultural and environmental heritage, associated with the strong impact caused by the advance of real estate interests, announced by new buildings recently approved by Conpresp in its territory. Particular concern is the vulnerability to which the area known as Grota do Bixiga is being exposed, despite the existence of protective legislation agreed since the early 2000s. Concern is intensified by the fact that these developments create reckless precedents for others to be approved in the near future, thus putting an end to the possibility of preserving what remains of Grota do Bixiga. This approach allows us to look at a whole process of study, inventorying and consolidation of knowledge produced within the Historical Heritage Department, which began in the 1980s, linking architectural assets to the structuring elements of the urban fabric and to the social relationships that not only populate the memory of the place, but are kept alive in the cultural practices of the present. It also allows us to deal with the impasses between cultural heritage preservation policies and urban policies of a broader nature. It also allows us to deal with the impasses between cultural heritage preservation policies and broader urban policies. Finally, it allows us to analyze another layer of latent memory, unveiled by the discoveries linked to the excavations carried out for the construction of the Orange Line Subway Station. The recent archaeological finds have sparked an important debate about the origin of occupation of the neighborhood associated with the presence of the Quilombo Saracura, strengthening the memory of the black population, due to its representativeness and its persistence over time, as an essential element of the culture of the place, which cannot be erased or made invisible.
Copyright (c) 2024 Eneida de Almeida, Flávia Brito do Nascimento https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Everything is legalized: urban legislation and the destruction of cultural heritage in São Paulo
Since the 1970s, the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil, has had conflicts between urban legislation and the preservation of cultural heritage. In this paper, we discuss the fragility of the zoning that aimed to preserve cultural elements and special areas: the Z8-200, and Special Cultural Preservation Zone. The urban legislation development is used to structure our analysis, and we explored two situations that are representative of the zoning fragility: the houses on Jandaia and Assembly streets, located in the district of República and the old Lanifício Paulista, in the district of Belém. Both experiences reflect the difficulty of cultural heritage and urban legislation management. The idea is to instigate reflections on how the development of cultural heritage meaning, expressed in urban values, still faces difficulties of understanding and application in public policies. Thus, we intend to problematize the destruction of built heritage, landscapes and urban practices that have them as a support and reference, and that find their demolition supported by the laws and urban public policies.
Copyright (c) 2024 Claudia Andreli Muniz, Mariana Cavalcanti Pessoa, Mariana Kimie da Silva Nito https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Preserving and maintaining biological collections in museums: reflections on practical and ethical perspectives
Biological collections reunited in natural history museums contribute to the knowledge and investigation of different aspects of biodiversity. Preserving these collections then becomes a primary action for museums that have them in their care. Thus, this article aimed analyze different aspects related to the conservation of biological collections in museums, emphasizing the reason for their maintenance, their ethical complications and the need for more and more efforts to be used in such tasks, which often seem small compared to the gathering and research processes of the collections. Through bibliographic survey, different elements present in these collections were listed. Despite the adversities that may be imposed by the specimens’ specificities, preserving them through daily practices, elaboration of action protocols and communication itself are still shown as viable and necessary alternatives to natural history museums.
Copyright (c) 2025 Bianca Cristina Ribeiro Vicente, Sue Anne Regina Ferreira da Costa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Brazilian museum field: possibilities of analysis based on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory
The aim of this text is to discuss the possibilities of applying Pierre Bourdieu’s theory for analyzing the Museology area in Brazil. In order to do this, first his production is examined, especially the ones related to museums and their symbolic capital. The notion of field is presented as a theoretical-methodological resource to observe the relations between those who produce, reproduce and negotiate a vision of what a museum is and what it is for. Considering that agents (individuals and institutions) gather in positions, we propose one representation about the Brazilian museum field. The habitus concept also helps us to understand how symbolic capitals are formed and what their relevance is in the relational dynamics around museums. With the help of trajectory information of Waldisa Rússio Camargo Guarnieri (active Brazilian museologist between the years 1970-1990), we observe the construction of the authority condition, according to the dispositions inherited and cultivated by the subjects. The relations between the bodies that occupy space in the field, their positions and the symbolic capital they negotiated are problematized. The conclusion is that Bourdieu’s theory contributes to the understanding of Brazilian museums and museology, as long as the criticism of the author and the particularities of the Latin American context are not neglected.
Copyright (c) 2025 Inês Gouveia https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The preservation ordinance for Ouro Preto as a strategy for safeguarding the historical landscape
This article explores how an innovative approach to landscape interpretation underpinned Iphan Ordinance No. 312/2010, which governs the preservation of Ouro Preto, taking into account the spirit of the place as well as urban and landscape transformations. The analysis revealed institutional weaknesses, preservation risks, and concerns regarding natural disasters. It posits that safeguarding ordinance established by Brazil's National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage, commonly referred to as Iphan, is a fundamental management tool for the landscape, highlighting its connections to the municipality's urban planning and management practices, as well as the importance of intergovernmental cooperation. Considering institutional discussions that took place in 2016 regarding the perceived effectiveness of Ordinance No. 312, the article concludes with critical reflections on its progress and challenges.
Copyright (c) 2024 Ana Clara Giannecchini, George Alex da Guia https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Vitrines of modernity: symbolism of ornaments in eclectic buildings in the City of Parahyba, Brazil
The incursion of eclecticism in Brazil during the First Republic (1889-1930) coincides with an urban modernization project that contemplates building façades with ornaments of various designs. Since investigations about eclectic architecture in the City of Parahyba (now João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil) are scarce, this essay examines the morpho-symbolic attributes of façade ornaments on two eclectic buildings located in its Historic Center: Tribunal de Justiça and Loja Maçônica Branca Dias. To accomplish this, the socio-cultural context of Parahyba is investigated, and the respective façades are photographed and redrawn for ornamental analysis. Results indicate that while motifs on Loja Maçônica Branca Dias allude to Ancient Egyptian legends revered by Freemasonry, those on Tribunal de Justiça commit to aesthetics rather than symbolism, aiming for the refinement envisaged by the modernizing project. Ornaments on the buildings' frontages thus endorse the socio-cultural context framed by republican ideals, transforming them into showcases of the new modern urban imaginary.
Copyright (c) 2025 Gabriel de Oliveira Madruga, Ivan Cavalcanti Filho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Historical heritage of Pernambuco: the patina of time versus urban-religious interventions in a church in Olinda
The study emphasizes the importance of regular analysis of pathological manifestations in historic buildings, focusing on historical characterization and recent interventions. Explores the distinction between damage caused by external agents and natural tendencies of elements construction degradation, emphasizing professional responsibility in non-destructive inspections and qualitative-quantitative analyses. The research is built on an urban perspective, when analyzing the facade and churchyard of the Church of Nossa Senhora das Neves, located in Olinda (Pernambuco, Brazil), showing the relevance of updating the damage map as a tool in regular inspections to facilitate preventive maintenance in historical-religious buildings. The overlapping results point to a contrast between the performance and use of the building and the conservation conditions of the urban-religious space.
Copyright (c) 2025 Júlia Oliveira dos Santos, Eudes de Arimatéa Rocha https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Protection of natural areas by Condephaat: structure, concepts, criteria and guidelines
Condephaat, Conselho de Defesa do Patrimônio Histórico, Arqueológico, Artístico e Turístico do Estado de São Paulo, was created in 1968 and was subordinated at the time to the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Department. It played an important role in developing methodologies and conceptual and operational criteria for the preservation of natural areas. In the 1970s and 1980s, the agency embraced innovation by incorporating natural heritage into its scope of activity, adopting landscape as its guiding concept, and by reaching a record number of approvals in its heritage listing proposals. From the 1990s onwards, Condephaat’s management and operational structure was weakened and the listing process of natural areas was passed over to the environmental protection agencies, undermining the agency’s own view of the protection of nature as a function of historical, territorial, and scenic processes of socio-cultural appropriation. This paper, based on literature review and on direct research at Condephaat’s Documentation Center, brings to light a historical account which otherwise would remain largely forgotten in the listing proceedings archives.
Copyright (c) 2025 Maria Tereza Duarte Paes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0