In Italy the safeguarding of the historical city has been the subject of intense discussion, involving theorists, technicians and citizens. The result is an original city project, which recognizes the need for conservation as an indispensable condition for cultural equilibrium in the territory and the society.

The design of the historical city is the most important Italian contribution to international research in the field of architecture and urban planning, a theoretical and operative model that has spread around the world.

The exhibition is a tribute to the work of Leonardo Benevolo, the main inventor of this approach. It is titled Il Bel Paese, curated by Benno Albrecht and Anna Magrin, to update the contents of the exhibition Esportare il Centro Storico (Brescia, September-December 2015, organized by the Milan Triennale in the context of the project Triennale Xtra in collaboration with the City of Brescia).