This presentation aimed to outline the thought and philosophy behind the modern concept of cultural heritage protection in Italy -- both in legal terms but also in the broader sense of the monument's material preservation. 

The first edicts concerning heritage protection appeared in the Papal States during the Early Renaissance. In a later stage, law shielding heritage from the damages of natural decay, war, plundering or illegal exportation became more sophisticated, especially during the 19th century with the historical processes of nation-formation, where monuments or works of art acquired the symbolic meaning of the country's Volksgeist. The fundamental ideas present in those pioneering decrees are reflected in the contemporary international legislation and to this regard, I attempt to highlight the growing awareness -- legal, social, and political -- of the value of cultural heritage that went beyond the territorial boundaries of the Italian peninsula.