Architectural Narratives and Willingness to Revisit in Cultural Heritage Settings: The Mediating Role of Emotional Resonance

Cultural heritage narrative architectural complexes (CHNAC) are historic built heritage environments in which preserved and adaptively reused architectural fabric serves as a medium for communicating cultural narratives. However, limited research has examined how visitors’ cognitive appraisals of such environments are associated with affective responses and willingness to revisit (WR). Based on the cognitive–affective–behavioral (CAB) framework, this study constructs a serial mediation model to examine how narrative understanding (NU), perceived authenticity (PA), and perceived spatial immersion (PSI) are linked to WR through two affective mechanisms, namely restorative experience (RE) and heritage attachment (HA), which are collectively referred to as emotional resonance. Based on 616 valid questionnaires, the model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings reveal differentiated cognitive–affective pathways to revisitation. NU was associated with WR primarily through emotional resonance, whereas PA showed both a direct association with WR and an indirect association through heritage attachment. PSI was associated with WR through the largest number of supported pathways, including a direct pathway and indirect pathways through RE, HA, and their sequential relationship. Across these pathways, RE was positively associated with HA, which in turn was positively associated with WR. These findings clarify the relationships between cognitive appraisals of narrative built heritage environments and emotional resonance reflected in restorative and attachment responses and provide implications for spatial design and revitalization that emphasize heritage conservation.