Cuba

International cooperation, restoration and knowledge transfer

The experience developed through the restoration projects in the Sassi of Matera provided the methodological foundation for launching an international cooperation program between Italy and Cuba, aimed at restoring and enhancing historic colonial buildings within the historic center of Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The urban context of Havana, characterized by an extraordinary stratification of architectural history and a strong cultural identity, represented an ideal environment for applying an intervention methodology based on the integrated protection, conservation and enhancement of architectural heritage, with particular attention to traditional construction techniques and the use of original materials.

The work was carried out within broader cultural and institutional cooperation programs, promoted in collaboration with Italian and Cuban organizations, with the objective of transferring expertise, sharing best practices and building a technical and cultural dialogue between contexts facing similar challenges in the conservation of historic centers.

In Havana, the work developed on multiple levels:

• study and analysis of the historic urban fabric, with specific focus on colonial architecture
• definition of recovery and adaptive reuse strategies compatible with the historical, environmental and social values of the site
• application of restoration techniques derived from the experience gained in the Sassi of Matera

Within this framework, the restoration interventions involved:

Casa Arango y Parreño
Casa Prat Puig

both located in the historic center of Havana and included in preservation programs coordinated by the Oficina del Historiador de La Habana.

A laboratory of cultural cooperation

The Cuban experience represented a first international laboratory for transferring the know-how developed in Matera, laying the groundwork for subsequent cooperation activities throughout Latin America and consolidating a vision of restoration as a shared cultural process, capable of generating knowledge exchange and sustainable heritage enhancement.

The transfer of expertise from the Sassi of Matera to UNESCO contexts in Latin America made it possible to establish a model of intervention based on the integrated protection of architectural, urban and landscape heritage, adapted to the cultural, social and environmental specificities of each territory.

Within this framework, international cooperation is not conceived as mere technical assistance, but as a process of cultural exchange, training and the construction of long-term institutional relationships, where architecture becomes a tool for dialogue between local identities and a global vision.

The result is a shared journey that connects Italy and Latin America through historic heritage, transforming it into a living resource for the future.