CIP A 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September - 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey 
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Nevertheless, a closer examination of international charters and 
other documents related to the conservation of historic heritage 
reveals that authenticity and integrity are in fact 
interchangeable or differentiated with a degree of ambiguity 
increasingly. Meanwhile, the basic reference to related 
geographic confines has also expanded from a historical site to 
a place of cultural heritage. 
It is proposed here that an understanding of the correlation 
between the two parallel threads of changes will reveal the role 
yet to be play by the host community and the potential 
contribution by multimedia technology in preserving historic 
urban habitats as living places through the dynamics of changes. 
2.1 A Selective Review: From Athens Charter to Nara 
Document 
In accordance with the Athens Charter for the Restoration of 
Historic Monuments adopted at the First International Congress 
of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments in 1931 
(The Athens Charter), historical sites are to receive strict 
custodial protection while areas surrounding historic sites 
should also be protected. In the Athens Charter, the concept of 
integrity, both historical and aesthetic, makes its first 
appearance without the use of the specific term. As one of the 
two general principles, the Charter recommends that, in the case 
of restoration, “the historic and artistic work of the past should 
be respected, without excluding the style of any given period.'" 
In other words, historic integrity is implied whereby the current 
form of a heritage resource should bear the imprint of growth 
and changes over time. 
Similarly, a demand for aesthetic integrity is also implied. With 
regard to the aesthetic enhancement, the Athens Charter 
recommends that new constructions should respect “the 
character and external aspect of the cities.” Special 
consideration is placed on the area surrounding ancient 
monuments where particular groupings and picturesque 
perspective treatment need be preserved. To preserve the 
ancient character of artistic and historic monuments, it is 
further recommended that care be extended to vegetation and 
the exclusion of any impairing constructions and elements - 
visual or audio alike. 
However, the term integrity did not make its official debut until 
1964, with the charter produced at the Second International 
Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments 
held in Venice (The Venice Charter). Most significantly, the 
Venice Charter establishes that the underlying intention in 
conserving and restoring monument is to safeguard them as 
historical evidence as much as works of art. Accordingly, the 
integrity of the physical setting in terms of scale, the relations 
of massing, color, layout and assorted appendages is stressed 
with regard to conservation. In relation to restoration, it is 
recommended that instead of aiming at a unity of style, valid 
contributions of all periods should be respected. Furthermore, 
additions will be allowed only when they compliments a 
monument’s “traditional setting, the balance of its composition 
and its relation with its surroundings.” The foregoing principles 
are to be applied to the conservation and preservation of historic 
sites — defined as the sites of monuments. 
Along with integrity, the term authenticity also enters into 
officialdom with the Venice Charter. In the preamble of the 
landmark charter, the current generation is called upon to 
deliver the ancient monuments “in the full richness of their 
authenticity” to posterity. Specifically, the charter asserts that 
with regard to restoration, “It must stop at the point where 
conjecture begins, and, moreover, any extra work which is 
indispensable must be distinct from the architectural 
composition and must bear a contemporary stamp.” For nearly 
three decades that followed, authenticity defined as such 
became the supreme doctrine for historic restoration. 
The focus on historic areas and their surroundings is 
continued in the Recommendation concerning Safeguarding and 
Contemporary Role of Historic Areas presented at the General 
Conference of the UNESCO in Nairobi, 1976 (The Nairobi 
Recommendation). Among the categories of areas recognized 
are urban quarters as well as historic towns. These historic and 
architectural areas are recognized for their archaeological, 
architectural, prehistoric, historic, aesthetic or socio-cultural 
values. Accordingly, aside from the architectural framework 
acknowledged in the preceding charters, the Nairobi 
Recommendation also acknowledges a related social and 
economic context for historic conservation. In defining the parts 
that compose the whole, the guideline stresses that “human 
activities as much as the buildings, the spatial organization 
and the surroundings” should be included. 
Most significantly, the importance of diversity is highlighted. 
Historic areas are viewed as “part of the daily environment” and 
that “they provide the variety in life's background needed to 
match the diversity of society, and that by so doing they gain in 
value and acquire an additional human dimension.” 
In 1979, the concept of places of cultural significance, or 
historic places with cultural value, was introduced with the 
first version of Burra Charter adopted by Australia 1COMOS 
(The Burra Charter). The charter was later revised in 1981, 1988 
and, most recently, 1999. The charter also asserts that cultural 
significance, i.e., aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual 
value for past, present or future generations, is embodied in the 
place itself and its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, 
records, related places and related objects. 
By definition, place refers to site, area, land, landscape, building 
or other work, group of buildings or other works, and may 
include components, contents, spaces and views. Specifically, 
elements of place may include memorials, trees, gardens, parks, 
places of historical events, urban areas, towns, industrial places, 
archaeological sites and spiritual and religious places. While 
setting means the area around a place, which may include the 
visual catchment, the fabric of a place covers all the physical 
material of the place, including components, fixtures, contents, 
and objects. Also included are building interiors, sub-surface 
remains, and excavated material. 
Subsequently, in the ICOMOS Charter for the 
Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas 
adopted in Washington, D. C. (The Washington Charter), 
the conservation of historic towns and urban areas assumes the 
central role. The new charter brings into focus the values of 
traditional urban cultures embodied in these areas that are 
being endangered by the dramatic advancement of urbanization 
at the heels of industrialization. Specific references are made to 
the Nairobi Recommendation, emphasizing that the 
conservation of historic towns and urban areas should also 
ensure “their development and harmonious adaptation to 
contemporary life.” The close interconnection between historic 
conservation and every level of urban planning is further 
reaffirmed and elaborated, and a multidisciplinary planning 
approach accentuated.