Restauracja z wyobraźni konstrukcja tożsamości w Toskanii [Fantasy restoration and identity construction in Tuscany]

This paper investigates some of the ways in which restoration was used in Tuscany from the 1820s until today to ‘reinvent’ the past and to shape national and regional identity. The term restoration (as opposed to conservation) designates the restatement of the original shape of a building or monument. Often this state is only supposed, and at times it is completely invented and created from scratch. I use the term 'fantasy restoration' to describe such kind of restoration. The thesis of the paper is that despite 'fantasy restoration' is deemed unacceptable by most scholars and practitioners, it continues in fact to be practiced in 'hidden' ways. Its political and economic goals are discussed, from nation-building during the 'Risorgimento' years to recent tourism promotion policies. Elements of continuity from the 1820s until today are highlighted in the use of restoration as a tool for identity building. Finally the effects of these purification policies, which act both on architecture and on society, are discussed.