Intangible heritage in urban tourism space – case studies of woodcarving in Konjic and fado in Lisbon

Abstract

The issue of cultivating and showcasing intangible heritage in urban space, which currently is heavily technicised, is rarely addressed in the literature. Particularly intriguing is the way of presenting traditions to enable their understanding by tourists, who are often a significant factor in encouraging heritage bearers to cultivate their customs. The authors assume that for this purpose, appropriate objects should appear in the tourist space of cities, ones that would constitute not only elements of the city’s spatial development, but also its semiotic elements. The article considered this issue by analysing the examples of woodcarving in Konjic and fado in Lisbon. A tendency to transfer of customs to the media and virtual space and their absence in physical space were noted, compensated by the emergence of tourist attractions. Fado is also present in tourist spaces outside Lisbon, which deprives it of the originality of territorial context. Carved wooden products from Konjic are transformed, adapting to the tastes of potential buyers: they lose the ornamentation typical of the region where they are still produced, but these transformations are an inherent element noticeable from the beginning of the development of this tradition. The new design becomes only a signum temporis, ensuring the continuity of the semiotic space of Konjic culture.