ABSTRACT
In the present-day context of a sharp decrease in economic and ecological resources, preventive conservation is a key strategy for sustainable heritage management, because of its cost effectiveness, increased preservation of authenticity and community driven development. Nevertheless, there are still very few real implementations, so that the purpose of this paper is to illustrate Portuguese experiences with special focus on the Rota do Românico, a Cultural Route with 58 monuments (monasteries, churches, towers, bridges, chapels, memorials) over an area of 764 km2 and involving 12 municipalities. This case study demonstrates that planned conservation is increasingly successful when linked with the participation of local communities and users.
