Tourism and changing representation in Europe’s historic capitals

Abstract

Preserving places in historic national capitals requires an understanding of the roles they play in the changing representation of capitals to citizens and tourists. The meaning and resonances ascribed to historic places refl ect and reinforce national identity, and as conceptions of national identities change, there are implications for approaches to preserving places. The paper considers the importance of capitals in national identity and systematically examines how their roles are changing, focusing on the importance of tourism representation. Finally, it considers some of the issues that arise for preserving their historic places.