The medina of Tunis, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, has a history stretching back thousands of years and is rich in architectural, artistic and cultural heritage. Over the last century, however, it has undergone social and urban transformations that have had a negative impact on its heritage. Today, within its 100 hectares, the historic city centre has 105 buildings that are abandoned, dilapidated or even close to collapse.
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CARISMED has mapped these buildings, which are often squatted, used as rubbish dumps or for the consumption and trade of narcotics, but which inside hold precious historical and artistic testimonies, such as ornaments and finishes in ceramics, marble and wood, left at the mercy of neglect or art and antique dealers. These places have vast potential and are also important case studies of traditional building techniques. However, the local government does not incentivise the recovery of these buildings, which would represent a huge opportunity in the field of local heritage conservation and valorisation and which could have positive repercussions on the community, in terms of employment and the liveability of the urban dimension: this is both because tracing the owners or heirs of these real estate assets is a long and tortuous process, and because the restoration costs are very high and real estate developers prefer to invest in new land and in works to be developed from scratch.
However, there are some examples of historic buildings whose restoration has brought tangible benefits to the city:
Dar Ben Achour is a building that belonged to the family of the Tunisian intellectual Mohamed Fadhel Ben Achour, which was also the residence of Prime Minister Mohammed Aziz Bouattour from 1882 to 1907. In 1970 it was acquired by the Municipality of Tunis, which launched a building and urban regeneration project, converting it into a library with the support of the ASM (Association de Sauvegarde de la Médina de Tunis). Dar Ben Achour represents one of the few public, safe and gender-neutral spaces in the area.
Dar El Collectif, another old building in the medina, has been privately renovated and now houses Collectif Creatif, an NGO that organises numerous creative and cultural activities for young people.
Built between the 15th and 16th centuries, Dar Ben Gacem has been transformed into a small boutique hotel, but it is also a social enterprise that invests in the area: all staff and suppliers come from the local community and profits are reinvested in the restoration of historic buildings and territorial marketing.
