Preventive archaeology A resource, not a hindrance, for the protection and valorisation of cultural heritage. The case of Ugento (Lecce, Italy)

This paper aims to explain the importance of preventive archaeology both in terms of protection and valorisation of cultural heritage. This is thanks to the wealth of data, mostly digital, that multidisciplinary activities related to preventive archaeology are able to provide. Preventive archaeology promotes scientific studies aimed to preserve the soil archives and entails studying past technologies, social and political relations, settlement processes and landscape. It also reveals the common cultural foundation that develops and transforms over time, and provides insight into how space, town planning, and the environment have evolved, as well as ethnic, cultural, and religious differences. The case study of Ugento, an important Messapian centre in the south of Italy, exemplifies how the application of innovative methodologies in preventive archaeology can result in the adoption of shared and smart urban and territorial planning instruments, notwithstanding the absence of overarching binding measures on the part of the competent ministerial authorities.