The necessity for ruins: the reconstruction of the church of St. Catherine in Stari Bar, Montenegro

The old town of Bar (Stari Bar) in Montenegro is one of the most important fortified ar-chaeological sites of the Adriatic coast. At the end of the 19th century, the abandonment of the city fostered a kind of crystallization of the urban fabric, today still readable in its general layout, while the edifices are prevalently in the state of ruin. During 2004-2013 years, the city has been investigated by a team of international researchers in order to de-velop guidelines and operational protocols aimed at guiding systematic saveguarding and enhancement activities. Although this, recently, the Montenegrin authorities has recently undertaken a new stylistic reconstruction of the remains of the Church of St. Catherine. This paper, through this case study, intends to develop a reflection on the future of the city and on the conservation, approaches flowed, probably based on a controversial idea of authenticity and integrity, mainly for tourism purposes.