Controversial Heritage and Divided Memories from the Nineteenth Through the Twentieth Centuries

<p>What is the role of cultural heritage in multi-ethnic societies where cultural memory is often polarized by antagonistic identity traditions? Is it possible for monuments that are generally considered as a symbol of national unity to become emblems of the conflictual histories still undermining divided societies? Taking as a starting point the cosmopolitanism that blossomed across the Mediterranean in the age of empires this book addresses the issue of heritage exploring the concepts of memory culture monuments and their uses in different case studies ranging from 19th-century Salonica Port Said the Palestinian region under Ottoman rule Trieste and Rijeka under the Hapsburgs up to the recent post-war reconstructions of Beirut and Sarajevo.</p>