Heritage in the aesthetic experience of daily life: An empirical study based on 60 squares in the city of Madrid.

Abstract

Since the Venice Charter of 1964 on the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, the study and preservation of historical heritage has become vitally important in urban politics. Sixty years later, the cult of heritage --historical, architectural, urban, or cultural-- has been fully consolidated in today's society through its relationship with memory and time. However, due to the leisure industry or tourism policies that tend to “museify” historical city centers, on occasion urban heritage risks being excluded from the society that inhabits it in daily life, thus trivializing "all the richness of its authenticity". Through an empirical study, this article investigates the relationship between the presence of built heritage and the perception of that which is beautiful and that which is pleasant in 60 public squares in the historical center of Madrid. The experimental results open a debate on three issues: aesthetic experience, as Dewey stated, cannot be separated from ordinary experience; built heritage becomes a key part of this experience; and aesthetic experience reflects a kind of truth that needs a living heritage.