Abstract

The arts heritage accumulated during the centuries in the geo-historical regions of Italian Peninsula is the subject of this article, based on sources provided by the collections and archives documents realized by Italian scholars between the end of the XIX century and the fist decades of the XX, as well as by the Kunst and travels-literatur that motivated and nourished the Gran Tour. The focus is on the devotional and political choices, the preservation criteria and laws ruled by pre-unitary governments between XVI and XVIII centuries, which made possible the building up of relevant artistic assets and generated, as in the case of the Uffizi and Pinacoteca Capitolina, the museum as form of offering to a community. The most important events of heritage break-ups are also quoted.