The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime (JCHC), con sottotitolo L’Informazione per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale, รจ una testata giornalistica culturale, registrata presso il Tribunale di Roma con n. 108/2022 del 21/07/2022, e presso il CNR con ISSN 2785-7182.
Il progetto editoriale JCHC รจ stato fondato ed รจ diretto da Serena Epifani.ย Si configura sul web come contenitore di approfondimento, il primo in Italia, in cui trovano spazio i fatti che quotidianamente vedono il nostro patrimonio culturale minacciato, violato e oggetto di crimini. I fatti sono riportati, attraverso un linguaggio semplice e accessibile a tutti, da una una redazione composta da giornalisti e da professionisti del patrimonio culturale, esperti nella tutela.
JCHC รจ informazione di servizio, promuove le attivitร di contrasto ai reati e sostiene quanti quotidianamente sono impegnati nella attivitร di tutela e valorizzazione del nostro patrimonio culturale.
Supporto per l’attivitร editoriale del Journal รจ Art Crime Project, un’Associazione di Promozione Sociale fondata nel 2020 allo scopo di sensibilizzare la cittadinanza e di promuovere la conoscenza degli strumenti di tutela e le attivitร di contrasto ai reati contro il patrimonio culturale. ACP si รจ costituita a partire da un eterogeneo gruppo di specialisti provenienti dai settori della ricerca, della divulgazione e della protezione del patrimonio storico, artistico ed archeologico con la mission di supportare e sviluppare progetti che contribuiscano alla salvaguardia del patrimonio culturale. Per realizzare i propri fini statutari, ACP incoraggia e coltiva i contatti con la comunitร scientifica, favorisce lo scambio di idee e iniziative, e sostiene le relazioni con Enti le cui finalitร sono in armonia con quelle dellโAssociazione.
Il progetto editoriale JCHC viene presentato per la prima volta all’Institute of Archaeology della Jagiellonian University, in occasione della Conferenza ๐ช๐๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, CAA 2019 (Cracovia, 23-27 aprile 2019).
Viene presentato, quindi, all’Universitร Ca’ Foscari di Venezia il 9 dicembre 2019, in occasione del Convegno: Patrimonio sottratto | Stolen Heritage. Prospettive multisciplinari sui traffici illegali di Beni Culturali in Italia e Vicino Oriente.
Gli atti del Convegno sono pubblicati nel volume delle Edizioni Ca’ Foscari, Stolen Heritage, con la curatela di A. Traviglia, Lucio Milano, Cristina Tognini e Riccardo Giovanelli. In particolare, si veda il contributo di Serena Epifani, The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime: An Editorial Project.
Per la traduzione italiana si veda:
Il Convegno a Ca’ Foscari รจ organizzato nell’ambito del Progetto H2020 NETcher, di cui The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime รจ media partner esterno, partecipando alle iniziative di sensibilizzazione e informazione sul traffico illecito di beni culturali di volta in volta promosse.
Il 19 luglio 2021, il Comitato di Redazione di ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐ riceve il ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฬ di ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ๐ e ๐๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐ con la seguente motivazione:
“JCHC รจ il primo contenitore italiano di approfondimento, con importanti proiezioni di carattere internazionale, in cui trovano spazio i fatti che quotidianamente vedono il nostro patrimonio culturale minacciato, violato e oggetto di crimini. Le notizie, riportate con linguaggio non specialistico, accessibile a tutti, sono raccontate, ricostruite da professionisti, esperti e divulgatori di grande esperienza. JCHC fa informazione di servizio e contribuisce ad avvicinare ai temi della conoscenza e della tutela del nostro enorme patrimonio culturale una platea sempre piรน vasta di utenti, promuovendo la crescita di una sensibilitร diffusa e al tempo stesso sostenendo quanti quotidianamente sono impegnati nellโattivitร di tutela e valorizzazione”.
Nelle giornate del 4-5 ottobre 2021, The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime รจ media partner del convegno promosso dall’Universitร di Ferrara, Un Atleta venuto dal mare. Criticitร e prospettive di un ritorno.
Sostieni il Progetto editoriale JCHC
The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime
–Project Presentation–
Crimes against cultural heritage crucially damage the history and cultural identity of peoples. Antiquities looting and the obsessive attention towards works of art are not at all a new phenomenon. In the past, especially in conflict situations, what we now call “cultural heritage” has often been subject to destruction and plunder. Today, these incidents feature clear distinctive marks of our modern times.
For instance, the Internet exploitation for the illegal market of archaeological finds from war-battered territories, such as Syria and Libya, is widely documented. The development of complex crime networks and the involvement of international organized crime lately drawing from the art and antiquities market a multi-million dollar business is also well known.
It is against this background that we conceived and developed the project of The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime. This is a specialized online magazine dealing with multiple issues about cultural heritage protection and enhancement. We dedicate special attention to those measures countering the illegal trafficking of archaeological finds and works of art, while also focusing on cases of recovery of stolen cultural goods.
This editorial project is as a new in-depth portal, the first website of the kind in Italy, totally dedicated to the crimes threatening and impacting on our cultural heritage on an everyday basis. The undeniable lack of attention by the national non-specialized press to accurate information about cultural heritage issues has been the main spur urging us to carry out such a project. We strongly felt the need to fill the gap between facts and people.
Nowadays, smart and careful use of modern technologies allows fast access to information. Still, articles about cultural heritage are usually labeled as curiosity and mostly appear under the heading “Shows” or generically in the “Culture” section on Italian online journals. Devising a specific website seemed, therefore, the ideal solution to most immediately convey such news and to finally give them the dignity of the first page.
Through rigorous and up-to-date information, the project aims to contribute to countering crimes against cultural heritage by raising public awareness. This way, we wish to actively support those who are engaged in the everyday protection and promotion of our cultural heritage.
Launched in September 2018, The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime is an online magazine combining news and feature articles with a targeted social media strategy. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are essential tools to communicate effectively to a broad public. The high ambition of this project is precisely to interact with the general public enhancing people’s interest and involving them directly in heritage protection. Comments and reports on potential or actual damages to monuments and works of art are, therefore, highly welcome on our social media.
The project is run by a small team of heritage professionals. The editorial board includes archaeologists, art historians, conservators, archivists, and jurists. Besides, we collaborate with scholars and specialists in different fields who help us give our readers an in-depth look into several topics involving crimes against heritage.
We publish weekly one or two feature articles about art crime, art security, and art legislation, especially considering: thefts, fakes and forgeries, damaging, looting, neglect, international trafficking of cultural heritage, seizures, recoveries, and restitution of stolen or looted goods. Our portal also hosts sections dedicated to interviews with experts and protagonists of the heritage field, and to movies and documentaries, as well as of bestsellers about cultural heritage issues.
Besides these main topics, we pay great attention to presenting our readers with useful information about events, exhibitions, conferences, or workshops specifically regarding cultural heritage protection. The most relevant ones are collected in a monthly schedule, and some of them are singularly pointed out as flash news or feature articles. A key appointment with our magazine is the weekly press review, where we provide a selection of the most relevant news, both nationally and internationally issued, by journals, newspapers, and blogs.
We do aim to facilitate networking among heritage professionals and keep them also connected to the non-specialized public to spread accurate information. To this purpose, we welcome partnerships and collaborations with museums, foundations, research centers, and institutions.
Each social media has a personalized strategy, conceived by the administrator of the page in coordination with the director and co-director of the journal. In the last few months, the adopted communication pattern has seen a rapid boost and an increasing success: statistics confirm a fast growth, both in views and in interactions.
Overall, the engagement data and the different kinds of followers’ interactions have proven, even in so little time, that the project could indeed be an effective tool in countering crimes against cultural heritage. In the near future, we also expect to be able to store the collected reports and data in an open-access database for endangered, stolen, damaged, and recovered artifacts.
In conclusion, The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime is conceived not just as a repository or a showcase for thrilling news, but as an interactive platform which aims to reach out to people, make them aware of the many threats to cultural heritage, and actively involve them in its protection.
