This reflection is based on the contribution by Sebastiano Pilosu, presented during the conference held in Nuoro on 15 January, as part of the Erasmus+ project “The Digital Dimension of the Network of UNESCO Cultural Spaces” (DigitICH).
The safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage raises complex issues that stem from its very nature: it consists of living practices, uses and knowledge, inseparably linked to the people and communities who bear them. These “heritage bearers” represent the core of any effective safeguarding action and cultural policy.
Only through the active involvement of individuals, the sharing of perspectives, strategies and objectives, can safeguarding initiatives be successful and sustainable. Communities are the fertile ground in which cultural practices develop, acquire meaning and gain value, as is the case with canto a tenore in Sardinia.
A heritage in constant transformation
Local communities are subject to ongoing economic, cultural and demographic change, and intangible cultural heritage evolves alongside them. Moreover, identifying heritage is not always straightforward: poetic and musical practices often have blurred boundaries, overlap with related traditions and are constantly reinterpreted, requiring continuous redefinition.
UNESCO recognition of canto a tenore has played a key role in increasing awareness of its cultural value. At the same time, it has generated complex dynamics, including hybrid forms, revival processes and, in some cases, what may be described as the “invention of tradition”. The aim is not to pass value judgments, but to understand and analyse these phenomena, particularly in their social and cultural dimensions.
Governance and shared responsibility
A central issue in safeguarding is governance: who decides, how, and on what basis? There are no universally applicable solutions for the diverse situations of intangible heritage. In the case of canto a tenore, experience has shown the importance of developing a shared, participatory and democratic governance model, one that does not assign a dominant role to a single institution—public or private—nor exclusively to academic bodies.
Primary responsibility lies with the heritage bearers themselves, the singers, who are called upon to identify possible paths forward together with their communities: the small municipalities of central Sardinia with regard to local specificities, and the wider Sardinian community of singers with regard to the canto a tenore system as a whole.
The Safeguarding Plan and experimental actions
The projects Modas, Istèrridas, Ziradas and Amparu represent experimental initiatives aimed at drafting the Safeguarding Plan, expected to be completed in the first months of 2026. These experiences have involved, to varying degrees, all stakeholders within the complex world of canto a tenore, allowing for the assessment, correction and refinement of proposed actions according to local needs.
The Safeguarding Plan is not conceived as a definitive or closed document. On the contrary, it is understood as an open and evolving instrument, continuously revised in response to changes in living practice and the outcomes of experimentation. First and foremost, it is a tool for knowledge production, grounded in systematic and rigorous research.
Areas of action
The actions tested so far have focused on several key areas:
Research and documentation
- Creation of physical and digital archives
- Archives of active practice, documenting the present
- Development of historical archives
- Research, study and analysis of all aspects of the heritage
- Accessibility and dissemination of knowledge
- Use of digital tools to amplify the voices of heritage bearers, such as the MODAS podcast
Revitalisation of traditional contexts
- Tzilleris: public spaces for singing, listening and learning
- Festivals as spaces of genuine exchange rather than staged performance
- Convivial gatherings as protected environments for experimentation
Support for active practice
- Showcases and exchange meetings among groups and villages
- Local and regional festivals
Intergenerational transmission
- Community-based workshops as spaces for encounter and learning
- School-based workshops integrated into regular curricula, restoring canto a tenore to its full status as a poetic and musical cultural form
Safeguarding canto a tenore is therefore understood as a collective, dynamic and participatory process, rooted in communities, knowledge and shared responsibility.
