The Evolution of Cetăţuia Urban Ensemble in Cluj-Napoca by Using Postcards: From Fortification to Recreational Space.

Abstract

Visual representations are a key tool for tourism marketing, incorporating the possibility of transmitting the associated historical and cultural symbols, as well as the messages associated with the official discourse at the same time. This article aims to analyse the evolution of urban and tourist planning since 1900 until now, in the area of Cetăţuia urban ensemble in Cluj-Napoca, by using postcards. The methodology consisted of interpreting the visual representations of the studied area from a critical perspective of the official discourse based on the selection of postcards published in different historical periods. The results of the study highlight the changes registered by Cetăţuia urban ensemble based on the evolution of the tourist planning, on the one hand, as well as on the narrative associated with the visual representations strongly influenced by the political ideology, on the other hand. This study reflects the role of postcards as a research tool in studies focused on analysing the visual representations of cultural heritage elements as promotion tools, but also a means of understanding cultural buildings and sites. At the same time, the visual representations of Cetăţuia and its location encompass coded messages of the official discourse meant to promote their image as a recreational space as part of the modernisation process of Cluj-Napoca during Socialism.