Identity-related implications of the dissemination of cultural heritage through the Internet: a study based on Framing Theory

Abstract

This research study focuses on the heritage of municipalities in an attempt to point out the cultural elements that are, in a latent way, a reflection of a town’s collective identity on the Internet. It is thus posited that a municipal website is a mechanism related to identity, constructed on the foundation of heritage objects and historical events that categorize a social group and, at the same time, differentiate it from other groups. The aim of this study was therefore to locate the heritage components that receive the greatest coverage on Spanish municipal websites, to then point out the approach that predominates in their characterization, a frame based on the dialectics between the local and the global. With this goal in mind, we performed a content analysis of a sample of 500 websites throughout Spain. In light of the results, it can be postulated that heritage identity in Spain has a religious tenor, as the manifestations most presented are usually ecclesiastical constructions (on the tangible plane) and liturgical events (on an intangible level).