About Us

About the Project

'Regulating and Managing Cultural Heritage in Europe’ is a three-year project (2024-2027) supported by the European Commission through the Jean Monnet Actions in the field of Higher Education Teaching and Research. 

The objective of the project is to examine the nature and content of cultural heritage regulation in Europe, considering the legal and cultural traditions of Member States as well as certain regulatory frameworks from third countries. Within this context, we aim to explore the influences—both their nature and extent—that have shaped the consolidation of a European legal framework on cultural heritage. Additionally, we will investigate the role of the EU in the global context.

The project will primarily be implemented through the organization of an annual Summer School aimed at bringing together students, researchers, and professionals from the legal and art-historical fields.

In 2025, the Summer School will be dedicated to the topic of 'Globalising the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Europe'.

This Jean Monnet Module is coordinated by Dr Anna Pirri Valentini and realised at IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, within the context of the LYNX activities.

About the IMT School

The IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca is a public PhD School and Research Institution with a special statute that focuses on the analysis of economic, societal, technological and cultural systems. 

Since its institution in 2005, the School has distinguished itself thanks to the quality and innovativeness of its research and doctoral program and its interdisciplinary nature, characterized by the complementarity and discourse between methodologies drawn from economics, engineering, computer science, applied mathematics, physics, archaeology, art history and the analysis and management of cultural heritage.

The fusion between art and technology is also reflected in the School Campus, located principally in the newly restored San Francesco Complex. The entire campus is found within the historic city center of Lucca, which is completely surrounded by a fully-intact Renaissance-era wall. The campus includes spaces for research and laboratories, courses, and living and recreation. 

About the Research Unit

LYNX - Center for the Interdisciplinary Analysis of Images, Contexts, Cultural Heritage is a research unit of the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, connected to the PhD Program Cultural Systems, with its two tracks AMCH (Analysis and Management of Cultural Heritage) and MUST (Museum Studies). 

Founded in 2011, LYNX promotes and carries out case study-based research projects concerning the mechanisms of production, use, transmission, reception, governance and regulation of culture and cultural heritage, with no limitation in terms of cultural, chronological or disciplinary context. It does, however, privilege projects that adopt multidisciplinary strategies of analysis, paying special attention in particular to approaches that are economic, sociological, architectural, urban-studies related, historical, art-historical, philosophical, neuro-perceptive, behavioural, and media studies related.

More info on the Research Unit's activities, projects, and people involved can be found here.