Massimo Preite

Massimo Preite is Professor of Urban Planning at the University of Florence and Professor of Industrial Heritage and Landscape at the Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree in Techniques, Heritage, Territories of Industry (TPTI) at the Universities of Évora, Paris and Padua. He serves on the Board of Directors of the International Committee for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage (TICCIH) and the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH).

His research centers on industrial heritage conservation, mining landscape reclamation, and urban redevelopment strategies. He specializes in transforming disused industrial sites into cultural assets through integrated planning frameworks, with emphasis on European mining heritage and 20th-century industrial landscapes. His work bridges theoretical heritage studies with practical urban regeneration.

His publications from 2000-2014 demonstrate consistent focus on mining site conversion, industrial landscape valorization, and European heritage networks. Key themes include sustainable tourism development, archaeological park management, and transnational policy frameworks for industrial heritage conservation across diverse geographical contexts.

Preite has directed major projects including the National Technological and Archaeological Park of Colline Metallifere master plan, Iron and Steel Museum feasibility studies in Piombino, and UNESCO World Heritage nominations for Nord Pas de Calais Mining Basin (France) and Tomioka Silk Mill (Japan). He also coordinated international heritage enhancement initiatives in Herat (Afghanistan) and Mandalay (Myanmar) through Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborations.

His professional activities involve close partnerships with TICCIH, ERIH, and UNESCO, implementing strategic conservation frameworks across European and global industrial heritage sites through multidisciplinary academic and governmental networks.