The Role of Cultural Heritage as a Defining Symbolic Milestone of Territorial Identity of the Ancient Centers Suitable for Tourism

The strengthening of the territorial identity of some cities and historic centres is associated with the material and immaterial culture references that are recognized as World Heritage. In Brazil, the historic Ouro Preto and the Historic Centre of Salvador fall within that perspective. The selection of the material and immaterial referents from the culture, associated with the construction of a mythical narrative of the past, and of a national identity unified around the capital assets, is intended to promote an image-brand of these cities related to cultivating a reinvented tradition. Understanding the ideological dimension present in the promotion of heritage from the examination of relevant images and speeches implies unraveling the system of representations that led to the creation of a collective imaginary of these cities, promoting tourism based on a mythical past idealized for marketing purposes, while obscuring the diversity of the territory uses and the meanings of heritage.