Ecomuseum

An Ecomuseum is something that represents the identity of a Territory, what its inhabitants are starting from the living culture of the people, their environment, what they have inherited from the past, what they love and want to show their guests and pass on to their children

[e·co·mu·ṣè·o] male noun. Institution that deals with studying, protecting and making known the global collective memory of a geographically delimited Community and its historical and current relationship with the environmental resources of the Territory.

This is the definition of Ecomuseum: an idea based on the development of the Community within its Territory. This term was created by the French anthropologist Hugues de Varine, the founding father of the European Network of Ecomuseums, and was initially conceived as a way to preserve the cultural heritage of rural communities at a time when it was endangered by the urbanization and social shift.

An Ecomuseum serves the Community and belongs to the Community. It is a dynamic process with which communities preserve, interpret and enhance their heritage to create a model of sustainable development.

You need knowledge and affection to take care of someone or something. An Ecomuseum is a new concept that allows people to take care of their past, transport it to the present and support future development. The true essence of the Ecomuseum is respecting and knowing the past. As Hugues de Varine claims: "Development is sustainable, therefore real, only as long as it lives in harmony with the cultural heritage and contributes to its vitality and growth. Consequently, it is impossible for development to take place without true, active and conscious participation by the community that owns the assets".