The Palacete Fellet as a landscape in conflict:

narratives of preservation and urban resistance in Juiz de Fora/MG

Abstract

This article analyzes the multiple interpretations of cultural heritage in the urban landscape of Juiz de Fora/MG through the case study of the Palacete Fellet. By discussing concepts from authors such as Choay, Ingold, Olender, and Borges, the research highlights the tension between institutional preservation, private interests, and collective perception. This work incorporates a field survey with passers-by into the bibliographic production on cultural heritage protection, revealing the population’s low adherence to the listed property. It concludes that the listing, even in ruins, has become a symbol of the dispute between preservationist interests and real estate speculation, reaffirming the challenges of heritage-making in contexts where the omission of public and private agents overlaps with the normative guidelines of preservation and the affections inherent to the relationship between cultural assets and the community in which they are embedded.