A social psychological approach to cultural heritage: memories of the elderly inhabitants of Rome

Abstract

Elderly inhabitants' memories can be a valuable source of information about the intangible aspects of cultural heritage of interest to tourists. Using the theory of social representations, this research project focuses on the urban area of the former 17th Municipality of Rome (located on the right riverbank of the Tiber River and including the neighborhoods of Prati and Borgo close to the Vatican City). All three older people's centers of the municipality have participated on a voluntary basis. The total of 64 persons provided demographic information, took tests assessing cognitive skills and memory, attended focus groups and participated in in-depth interviews in order to produce a documentary for tourists. As a result, the four most significant social representations of the cultural heritage of the former 17th Municipality of Rome have been identified and described in relation to the predominant emotions evoked. The final product consists of a documentary that includes selected interviews with the elderly inhabitants, insights from an archeologist and art historian, as well as local administration and authorities, in order to enrich tourist experience. Practical implications of the research project are discussed in relation to urban tourism.

Social Representations of Older Adults Among Chilean Elders of Three Cities with Different Historical and Sociodemographic Background

“…To have access to the processes of construction and maintenance of the social representations, it is necessary to develop research considering a qualitative perspective, in order to have access to the processes of construction and transformation of social representations. In this regard, it would be interesting to study urban memory among older adults of Chile, as it has been carried out by De Alba (2012) and Dryjanska (2015), as a means to understand the socio-spatial and cultural heritage aspects involved in the process of construction of social representations of older adults.…”

Supporting intergenerational memento storytelling for older adults through a tangible display: a case study

“…Given that one of the most precious characteristics of older adults is their memory of events, people, and places during their childhood and adolescence [42], older adults could be deemed as story content producers. Jenny Waycott et al further investigate the nature and role of digital content that has been created by older adults in the nursing home, for the purpose of forging new relationships.…”

Designing for Older Adults' Life Storytelling through a Tangible Interactive Device

“…Given that one of the most precious characteristics of older adults is their memory of events, people and places during their childhood and adolescence (Dryjanska, 2015), older adults could be deemed as story content producers. Jenny Waycott et al further investigate the nature and role of digital content that has been created by older adults in the care facilities, for the purpose of forging new relationships, and their findings demonstrate that older adults are willing to express themselves creatively through digital content production (Waycott et al, 2013).…”