Protection vs. Public Access: two concepts compared within the Italian underwater cultural heritage management system Massimiliano Secci 1 Suggested running head: Protection vs. Public Access in Italian UCHM Abstract: The concepts of protection and public access relating to underwater cultural heritage are often taken as two contrasting notions in the Italian underwater cultural heritage management panorama. This contribution aims to review these concepts with the objective of emphasizing the possibility of sound and scientifically compelling public access to the underwater cultural heritage, keeping protection principles intact. With the support of in-the-field examples successfully produced worldwide, this paper will attempt to underline how scientifically sound public access activities in the field of underwater cultural heritage management can benefit the protection of such heritage. Keywords: Awareness; Education; Protection; Public Access; Italy; Underwater Cultural Heritage. 1 Research Fellow Dipartimento di Storia, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy. email: msecci@uniss.it Title Page Enkem jgtg vq fqypnqcf Ocpwuetkrv< RtqvgevkqpaxuaRwdnkeCeeguua38244233aVkvngRcig0fqe Enkem jgtg vq xkgy nkpmgf Tghgtgpegu 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65