Lecture by Alessandro Testa - Marian Column in Prague's Old Town Square

ABSTRACT - ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ALESSANDRO TESTA

The Cultural Politics of Contested Heritage: The Reconstruction of the Marian Column in Prague Old Town Square

The recent reconstruction of the Marian Column (“Mariánský Sloup”) in one of Prague’s most important and central squares has sparked a heated public discourse, making it a very timely and interesting case study to better observe and understand the entanglements between religious practices, cultural heritage making and its dynamics, and broader social changes in contemporary Czech Republic and in Europe as a whole. After briefly presenting the significance of the Marian Column in Czech and local history, the I will discuss how its recent reconstitution has to do with a variety of socio-cultural dynamics such as the reinterpretation of the past, the refunctionalisation of monumental sites, the structuring of public discourses around problematic issues, the making of national identities, the manipulation of religious symbols, the negotiation and expression of political positioning, and the challenges of heritage-making processes in Europe today. I will conclude by problematising issues of urban and religious heritage and identities in the highly diverse and mobile European societies of the 21st century