Before the recent economic crisis, both in Greece and in Italy there was an extraordinary development in various kinds of urban activities. Some of them have considerably affected museums and archaeological sites and have made them more attractive to the new post-modern tourism of sensory and emotional character. The new Acropolis Museum in Athens was almost a symbol of this change, but also the new exhibition spaces in commercial centres and underground stations must be taken into account. In Italy a similar change occurred in some of its major towns, such as Rome, Turin, Naples, Cagliari and Reggio Calabria. The outbreak of the crisis has subsequently brought to a halt the proliferation of these initiatives and has induced critical reflections on what has happened and what may yet happen. Urban policies, gentrification and beautification processes must be reconsidered. It is no longer time for archaeology without finds and atmosphere without contents, accordingly to the post-modern model. However, the de-intellectualization of today’s societies obliges even the most serious scholars to take into account the potential of some forms of edutainment, such as living history and re-enactment, which up-to-now have been under-evaluated and despised by archaeologists and historians.
