Las raíces de la Carta de Venecia / The roots of the Venice Charter

This text presents an in-depth study of the Italian postwar atmosphere that eventually gave birth to the Venice Charter. It investigates the debate on Italian historic centres, many of which were heavily bombed during the Second World War. At the time, debate on their future focused on whether to protect them or open up to urban planning. The article reviews the role of the main advocates of the international charter on monument protection, Piero Gazzola and Roberto Pane, together with other Italian and international fi gures such as Raymond Lemaire, in their prolonged struggle to ensure the recognition of anonymous urban or rural elements as monuments in themselves, one of the greatest achievements of the Venice Charter which consequently protected and safeguarded these from urban speculation.