The chapter concerns the Museum of the Rules project, to date a 'unicum' since there are no museums of Law or Justice in the world except for some memorials commemorating victims of terrorism. It is still in the planning phase although its concept has been already presented in 2015 by its creators, Professors Amarelli, Galgano, and Pane of the University of Naples Federico II, and then included by the Castel Capuano Foundation among its objectives for the rebirth of the Castel Capuano Monument, where the foundation is based. The museum exhibition intends to be only the 'physical' moment representative of a broader narrative path that will involve scholars and students of all levels and even the whole city on the themes of education to both coexistence and legality.
TopThe Choice Of A Museum As The Place To Retrace The History Of The ‘Rules’
Preliminary to its design hypothesis was the evaluation and then the choice of shaping a museum for a composite reflection on the history of Law and on the Law itself. As it is well known, a museum collects research findings on 'objects' linked to the cultural heritage of Man, which it contributes to nourishing. Its collections exhibit not only valuable goods, but also expressions of material culture, which spread knowledge and enrich society.
According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and to the Statutes, adopted in Wien, Austria, on 24th August 2007: “A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment1”.
As is evident from this clarification about the ultimate purposes of these institutions, in museums it is possible to reconcile worlds apparently incommensurable by the common belief, as proven by art. 9 of the Italian Constitution which includes the protection of the landscape and the historical-artistic heritage as an integral part of the cultural heritage itself of the Nation among the fundamental principles of Italian juridical system. It is significant that the term “Nation” is used (as it happens in very few other regulations of the Charter), because here it was intended to relate the cultural heritage with the same national identity, constituent element together with the territory, sovereignty, and governing bodies State. The term 'patrimony' derives from the Latin patrimonium, which evokes an inheritance received from previous generations and to be passed on to future generations; a material and immaterial totality belonging to the community, and as such subject to a public regime that guarantees its protection as an interest superior to that of the individual.
The heritage therefore contributes to building the identity of individuals or peoples. Using a term that recalls goods that have been handed down to us by our Fathers and which we do not dispose independently or individually of - although we can enjoy them without any limitation - this formulation conjures up a strong identity value that has resided since ancient times in the perception of environment, monuments, works of art that surround us and in their reading.