Selling Tradition Through Architecture in Romagna, Italy

The goal of this essay is to depict the evolution of the cultural identity of a region through its architectural tradition. The first part of the text focuses on the generic idea of tradition. Architectural tradition is only part of it, and should be always related to all the cultural aspects of tradition. Moreover, the concept of traditional architecture is associated to the one of regional architecture. In the second part of the essay, sampling the construction of the regional identity over the years, an italian region, Romagna, is taken into consideration. The idea of Romagna, as a territory with specific cultural identity, is something fairly recent, and dates back less than two centuries. Nowadays this character still partly relies on its architecture, but specifically on its regional mercification, represented by new symbols of tourism and commerce. The region is now a place for architectural experimentation and innovation, where new local/regional identities are continuously generated.