National Association of Historic-Artistic Centers

The National Association of Historic-Artistic Centers (Associazione Nazionale Centri Storico-Artistici, ANCSA) is an Italian non-profit association founded in Gubbio in June 1961. It operates in the field of safeguarding, recovering, enhancing and regenerating cities, historic centres, landscapes and territories of historic, artistic and environmental interest. Its origins are tied to the national conference for the safeguarding and rehabilitation of historic centres held in Gubbio in September 1960, which produced the concluding declaration known as the Carta di Gubbio (Gubbio Charter). The association was established to promote cultural and operational initiatives supporting public administrations in the protection and regeneration of urban heritage. ANCSA's members include Italian regions, provinces and municipalities, university structures, public and private bodies, scholars and experts. Because of its close connection to local territories, it also works at the local level, mainly through its regional sections, which are committed to implementing the association's aims. Its statutory purposes include promoting historical, aesthetic, urban-planning, technical, economic, financial and legislative studies and research for the safeguarding, recovery and cultural enhancement of cities and territories of historic, artistic and environmental interest; promoting studies and research on urban, environmental and territorial requalification, on the reuse and management of building and historic heritage, and on the conservation and requalification of landscape and historic territory; collecting and coordinating the results of studies and research carried out by municipalities, other interested bodies, university professors and scholars and experts in architectural and urban-planning disciplines; and promoting around itself and its initiatives — through conferences and meetings at international, national, regional and local level, the publication of proceedings and memoirs, the dissemination of information and news, and the use of every appropriate means of communication — the gathering of all those concerned. The association's history is closely linked to the figure of urban planner Giovanni Astengo, who had received the commission to prepare the general master plan of Gubbio in 1956, presented to the city council in 1960. Astengo was a founding member of ANCSA and its vice-president in 1962. In the following years he argued for linking historic-centre policies to planning of the entire city and to relations between ancient fabrics, urban expansions, housing and services, and proposed continuous programmed maintenance of existing buildings and fabrics to counter abandonment and loss of resident population. During the 1960s and 1970s ANCSA's activity helped broaden the meaning of urban conservation: the historic centre came to be interpreted not as an isolated set of monuments but as part of the contemporary city, characterized by social, economic, functional and territorial relations. The debate focused on the relationship between conservative rehabilitation, the right to housing, public services, municipal planning, suburban development and transformations of the urban surroundings. In the transition from the founding phase to the association's later elaboration, Bruno Gabrielli, Roberto Gambino and Cesare Macchi Cassia were particularly important. Gabrielli, introduced to ANCSA by Giovanni Astengo, was technical secretary from 1969 to 1978, a member of the board of directors from 1978 to 1990, later president until 2005 and coordinator of the scientific committee until 2015. His activity accompanied the broadening of the association's horizon from the historic centre to the existing city, historic territory and historic urban landscape.

The National Association of Historic-Artistic Centers (ANCSA) was founded in Gubbio in June 1961. Its origin is linked to the national conference for the safeguarding and rehabilitation of historic centres held in Gubbio from 17 to 19 September 1960. That conference brought together public administrators, parliamentarians, architects, urban planners, art historians and scholars to address jointly the urban-planning, architectural, administrative, legislative and social aspects of urban conservation. The initiative was promoted by the municipalities of Ascoli Piceno, Bergamo, Erice, Ferrara, Genova, Gubbio, Perugia and Venezia and gathered the adherence of fifty municipal administrations in total. The proceedings were organized into critical and disciplinary reports, contributions on administrative and legislative instruments, and analyses of Italian urban cases. The conference proceedings document interventions by, among others, Giovanni Astengo, Giuseppe Samonà, Antonio Cederna, Mario Manieri Elia, Gaetano Badano, Domenico Rodella, Egle Renata Trincanato, Giovanni Romano, Ludovico Belgiojoso, Edoardo Caracciolo and Piero Bottoni. The conference concluded with the unanimous approval of the Carta di Gubbio and with the decision to transform the promoting committee into a permanent body tasked with continuing studies, coordinating initiatives and fostering the application of the principles elaborated. ANCSA was constituted in Gubbio in June 1961. The current statute recognizes the eight promoting municipalities as founding members; the historical list attached to the 2006 statute also includes the Ente Provinciale per il Turismo di Perugia, the Azienda Autonoma di Soggiorno e Turismo di Gubbio, the Istituto per le Case Popolari per la Provincia di Perugia and twelve individuals: Giovanni Astengo, Vinicio Baldelli, Mario Belardi, Nicola Benedetti, Edoardo Caracciolo, Luigi Contenti, Gisberto Martelli, Vincenzo Parlavecchio, Camillo Ripamonti, Mario Roffi, Giovanni Romano and Egle Renata Trincanato. The original composition reflected the character of the association, born from the encounter between local administrations, urban-planning culture, heritage protection and public policies. Among the protagonists of the founding phase, the urban planner Giovanni Astengo played a central role. In 1956 he had received the commission to prepare the general master plan of Gubbio, presented to the city council in 1960; the work carried out on the Umbrian city contributed to the cultural and operational preparation of the conference. Astengo participated in the constitution of ANCSA, of which he was a founding member and vice-president in 1962. In the following years he supported the need to link historic-centre policies to the planning of the entire city and to the relations between ancient fabrics, urban expansions, housing and services. He also proposed programmed and continuous maintenance of existing buildings and fabrics, aimed at countering abandonment and the loss of resident population. His contribution was therefore relevant both in the institutive phase and in the elaboration of an urban-planning conception in which the conservation of the historic centre became part of a general policy of the city. During the 1960s and 1970s ANCSA's activity contributed to broadening the meaning of urban conservation. The historic centre was progressively interpreted not as an isolated set of monuments, but as part of the contemporary city, characterized by social, economic, functional and territorial relations. The debate focused on the relationship between conservative rehabilitation, the right to housing, public services, municipal planning, suburban development and transformations of the urban surroundings. In the transition from the founding phase to the association's subsequent elaboration, Bruno Gabrielli, Roberto Gambino and Cesare Macchi Cassia were particularly important. Gabrielli, introduced to ANCSA by Giovanni Astengo, was technical secretary from 1969 to 1978, a member of the board of directors from 1978 to 1990, later president until 2005 and coordinator of the scientific committee until 2015. His activity accompanied the broadening of the association's horizon from the historic centre to the existing city, historic territory and historic urban landscape. Roberto Gambino contributed to extending the debate to landscape planning, networks of historic centres and the environmental and territorial scale; this approach flowed into the Second Gubbio Charter of 1990. Cesare Macchi Cassia developed a reflection on the project and the form of the city and urban territory. The comparison between these positions contributed to overcoming a conception of protection circumscribed to ancient nuclei and to broadening ANCSA's field of action. From the 1980s the association's reflection therefore turned towards the concept of the existing city, including the reuse of built heritage. Among the main initiatives promoted by the association is the Premio Gubbio (Gubbio Prize), established in 1990. ANCSA continues to operate in the field of safeguarding, recovery, enhancement and regeneration of cities, historic centres, landscapes and territories of historic, artistic and environmental interest. It promotes studies and research, training and publishing activities, conferences and seminars, international cooperation initiatives and forms of consultancy addressed to public administrations and other subjects engaged in the conservation and transformation of urban and territorial heritage. Its members include Italian regions, provinces and municipalities, university structures, public and private bodies, scholars and experts. Because of its close connection to local territories, it also works at the local level, mainly through its regional sections. Recent activities include the presentation of guideline studies for the urban regeneration and social revitalization of the historic centre of Ragusa and the preparation of the Stati Generali on Centres and Historic Cities, scheduled in Bologna for 19–21 November 2026.

• 2026

  Presentation of guideline studies for the urban regeneration and social revitalization of the historic centre of Ragusa.

• 2026

  Stati Generali on Centres and Historic Cities to be held in Bologna.

• 2015

  Bruno Gabrielli ends his role as coordinator of the scientific committee.

• 2006

  Statute with historical list of founding members is adopted.

• 2005

  Bruno Gabrielli ends his presidency.

• 1990

  Premio Gubbio (Gubbio Prize) is established; the Second Gubbio Charter is produced.

• 1978

  Bruno Gabrielli joins the board of directors (until 1990).

• 1969

  Bruno Gabrielli becomes technical secretary (until 1978).

• 1962

  Giovanni Astengo serves as vice-president.

• 1961

  ANCSA is constituted in Gubbio.

• 1960

  National conference for the safeguarding and rehabilitation of historic centres held in Gubbio; concludes with the unanimous approval of the Carta di Gubbio and the decision to create a permanent body.

Non-profit association supporting public administrations in the safeguarding, recovery, enhancement and regeneration of historic cities, centres, landscapes and territories.

• Premio Gubbio (Gubbio Prize)

  Prize established in 1990, among the main initiatives promoted by the association.

• Carta di Gubbio (Gubbio Charter)

  Concluding declaration of the 1960 Gubbio conference, unanimously approved.

• Seconda Carta di Gubbio (Second Gubbio Charter)

  Produced in 1990, incorporating Roberto Gambino's approach to landscape planning and territorial scale.

• Stati Generali sui Centri e le Città Storiche

  Major initiative scheduled in Bologna, 19–21 November 2026.

1. 1Home - Associazione Nazionale Centri Storico Artisticiancsa.org
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4. 4National Association of Historic-Artistic Centers - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5Associazione Nazionale Centri Storico-Artistici - Wikipediait.wikipedia.org