National Museum of Aleppo

This paper presents the history, current situation, and ongoing projects on the collection from the National Museum of Aleppo (Syria), sketching the history of its collection and the changing role of the museums in the past century. When museums face periods of conflict and destruction, not only their primary role to preserve heritage is challenged, but also the bond to the local community is severed. The National Museum of Aleppo is a perfect example in this matter: established under the French protectorate, rearranged by the Syrian government at the end of the 60s, it experienced a flourishing period, the violent conflict, a partial reopening, and the earthquake. Its collection, that was never looted, thanks to the efforts of the museum staff and the DGAM, has been damaged by shelling, has been in great part taken out from showcases, brought to safe deposits, and still not available to the public. Given this situation intervention to the collection and to the structure needs to embed the recent events and aims at reinstalling a new bond between the community and its cultural heritage.