Abstract

The author examines the seminal article by Paolo Leon « Valorizzazione del patrimonio storico-artistico e nuovo modello di sviluppo « (written in the 1986 and published in this issue of the journal) to highlight the originality and the vitality of the Leon thoughts. Leon's methodological contribution is of the great interest both expressed either in an «empiricist» figure when he examines individual case studies, or in «theoretical» shape when he delves into the themes of «giacimenti culturali». Paolo Leon has nevertheless made a definitive contribution to the expansion of the cultural planning at European and national level and to the evaluation technics in the complex projects cases (e.e, the «Great Pompeii Project»).