L’eccezione come regola: il paradosso teorico del restauro The Exception as the Rule: The Paradox of Restoration

Reconsidering the theoretical aspects of restoration nowadays means addressing some epistemic and cultural issues that can send scholars into the treacherous grounds of critical debate. Restoration must tackle the issue of criticism in order not to fall into naive empiricism and to stem the uncontrolled expansion of paradoxical specializations, as well as grotesque variations of what can be considered heritage. Indeed it seems necessary to extend this reflection to the very category of heritage and the mechanisms of transformation into cultural heritage, focusing on the too often forgotten question of the “recognition” of values. The volume attempts to set out its own theoretical orientation, comparing experiences and points of view, but also considering the specific matter of the language of restoration as well as of the cultural and theoretical-methodological scope that words, for those who deal with such a delicate subject, bring with them. Without a theory, the restorer would be almost defenceless when faced with the profuseness of the exception that each construction site reassuringly encapsulates