In the last 60 years, there has been a profound change in the international debate on conservation and restoration characterised by the emergence of multiple visions of cultural heritage and a sort of ‘revolution’ driven by immaterial social, spiritual, economic, and political values that have complemented historical and aesthetic material values. Significant documents have emerged from international debates following the Venice Charter of 1964, such as the Burra Charter of 1979 and the Nara Document on Authenticity of 1994, which have redefined ‘cultural significance’ and authenticity. Heritage has become a ‘process of cultural production’ carried out by communities and conservation is involved in its ‘creation’. In contexts marked by immigration and multiculturalism, such as the Anglo-Saxon ones of the USA and Australia, as well as those of South America, heritage represents a valuable ‘tool’ to support certain social and cultural policies and to define and consolidate national identity. As Laurajane Smith says, identity ‘is something actively and continually recreated and negotiated as people, communities and institutions reinterpret, remember, forget and reassess the meaning of the past in terms of the social, cultural and political needs of the present’. In some cases, as demonstrated by reconstructions, scenic settings and practices of ‘patriotism’ recreated in Colonial Williamsburg or Uppark House, conservation leverages the memory and emotional dimension of cultural assets. In others, it focuses on local autonomy, such as that of the First Nations. In yet others, it serves as a ‘tool’ for the assertion of multicultural and globalised communities, as exemplified by Hinemihi, the meeting house of the Māori in Clandon Park. Conversely, in contexts emphasising ‘living heritage’, heritage is attributed with an excessively sacred power, and its material conservation may only be carried out by specific individuals or communities. This is demonstrated by the maintenance of mosques or mausoleums in Mali, the reconstruction efforts of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, Sri Lanka, or the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción near San Luis Potosí, in Mexico. However, when emphasised, certain intangible values—such as spiritual, economic and political ones—can pose risks to cultural heritage, fuelling contempt, racial and ethnic hatred, and iconoclasm—often linked to nationalism, ‘sovereignism’, ‘populism’, and fundamentalist religious ideologies—or facilitating falsification and commodification. By illustrating various examples of heritage interventions across different cultural contexts worldwide, this contribution aims to show both the potentials and risks associated with restoration and conservation operations, reflecting on the interpretations attributed by various civilisations to ‘cultural significance’, authenticity, and identity.