Essay On Heritage Conservation

Heritage or cultural heritage refers to “all those aspects of the man – made environment – buildings and landscape – that have any historic significance” (Adam 2008, 3). Kidd (2011, 24) supports that heritage is a “synonymous with the ‘inheritance’ of (mostly material) manifestations of ‘the past’ through generations”. In the late 1960s the concept of ‘heritage’ came into light, while the terms ‘cultural landscape’ and ‘world heritage’ introduced in the decade of 1980s (Fawler 2000, 203).

Heritage conservation and management should be based on the significance of the heritage monument / site (Jokilehto 2006, 5). Under this perspective, heritage monuments, sites and landscapes comprise a type of cultural resource, which should be managed in special ways so as to preserve their scientific

More specifically, the emphasis should be put on the relic of Hosios Loukas, which is something unique and it is “used” as an attraction not only for prayers, but also for tourists. That was the reason why many visitors and prayers used to go to the monastery, so as to find a cure after their contact with the relic. As a result, the relic is a representative of byzantine authenticity and it is well known to many people. Furthermore, local community is involved with the Hosios’ Loukas relic, because they attend the litany of his relic. This part consist a commemorative element of the return of the Hosios’ Loukas relic, that was taken by some monks, when they tried to leave the monastery in 1460 and they went to Leykada, which is an island, in Greece. But after the Ottomans’ invasion to the island, the relic was sent to Serbia and when Serbia was taken by the Ottomans, Frankish monks took the relic with them to Venice. Finally, after 526 years, the relic was sent again back to Steiri in 1986. For this reason the locals celebrate Hosios Loukas memory and they are involved in it on a great