The devastation wreaked by earthquakes, floods and other natural catastrophes occurs on a
time scale which is inversely proportional to that involved in reconstructing and readapting the
places, their values and sense of identity. At the same time, the latter activities bring about a
rapid transformation in the movements of people and objects and in ways of thinking. There are
three main factors in safeguarding the cultural and identity resources of a place subject to
natural disasters: to establish a culture of risk in the population in relation to the historical
identity of places; to provide for a conservation plan before a disaster; to adopt a
multidisciplinary approach to damage and assessment. Starting from these premises, the case
study of post seismic reconstruction of Kitano-cho in Kobe, Japan, affected by an earthquake in
1995, is presented. The neighbourhood of Kitano-Cho is one of the historical centres of Kobe.
Foreign businessmen settled here in the late nineteenth century, when the port of Kobe was
opened up to international trade. The businessmen’s houses today have become museum
houses showcasing the culture of the countries their dwellers came from. The catastrophic
earthquake that struck Kobe in 1995 also impacted the Kitano-Cho area. Efforts were mainly
devoted to the reconstruction of tourist areas, neglecting the reconstruction of traditional
residences and public spaces.