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Despite studies highlighting UNESCO's role in building a world in peace, the link between cultural heritage, human rights and social relations may also trigger social and/or ethnic conflicts. The contribution reveals these dynamics through an investigation of the events that took place during the 40th Committee of the World Heritage Center, held in Istanbul in July 2016 in which the the Armenian archaeological site Ani was inscribed in the UNESCO list. On the same occasion, in an unofficial way, there were discussions on the interventions of the Turkish army in another site registered in the 2015 list "Cultural landscape of the Diyarbakır fortress" characterized by a predominantly Kurdish population. Activist groups denounced the destruction of Kurdish heritage and memory by the Turkish army accusing UNESCO of taking an indifferent position. The contribution highlights the consequences that precede and follow the processes of registration in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

The phenomenon of abandonment today mainly concerns small villages, located in disadvantaged or fragile areas, but also urban and industrial "fragments", which have concluded their life cycle or have lost their function, becoming incompatible with the socio-economic system. The most obvious causes are natural and anthropic, traumatic and gradual, and depend on the fragility of the territory, often increased by neglect and poor maintenance, in a spiral process in which abandonment increases neglect, neglect increases abandonment; but they also depend on the traditional socio-economic system, which cannot keep up with the speed of processes in the so-called advanced areas. Depopulation and abandonment are not phenomena of our time. In every age and at every latitude territories have been gradually inhabited, abandoned and then re-inhabited, according to a life cycle that is sometimes natural, sometimes unnaturally accelerated by political choices. However, it is evident, looking at the history of places, that single events have almost never been the sole cause of abandonment: often communities have faced and overcome a disaster, finding in themselves the stimuli and solutions for a possible recovery. Problems arise, however, when human action is added to the event, a disrespectful, short-sighted intervention or even simple inaction. These are political actions that directly or indirectly trigger processes of abandonment, where they do not follow the history, needs and identity of places and communities. Una storia di abbandono. Cause, conseguenze, trasformazioni Il fenomeno dell’abbandono oggi riguarda principalmente insediamenti “minori”, ubicati in aree disagiate o fragili a cui si affiancano “frammenti” urbani e industriali che hanno concluso il proprio ciclo vitale o hanno perso la propria funzione, diventando incompatibili con il sistema socio-economico. Le cause più evidenti sono naturali e antropiche, traumatiche e graduali, che fanno leva sulla fragilità del territorio, spesso accresciuta da incuria e scarsa manutenzione, in un processo spiraliforme in cui l’abbandono aumenta l’incuria, l’incuria aumenta l’abbandono; ma anche su quella di un tessuto socio-economico tradizionale, che non riesce a star dietro alla velocità dei processi delle cosiddette aree avanzate. Spopolamento e abbandono non sono fenomeni del nostro tempo. In ogni epoca e ad ogni latitudine i territori sono stati sono stati via via abitati, abbandonati e poi riabitati, secondo un ciclo vitale a volte naturale, a volte innaturalmente accelerato da scelte politiche. Tuttavia, appare evidente, guardando alla storia dei luoghi, come i singoli eventi non siano stati quasi mai causa esclusiva di abbandono: le comunità hanno spesso affrontato e superato il disastro, trovando in se stesse e nel proprio patrimonio identitario gli stimoli e le soluzioni per una possibile ripresa. I problemi nascono invece, quando all’evento si somma un’azione umana, un intervento poco rispettoso, poco lungimirante o addirittura dannoso o anche una semplice inazione. Sono azioni politiche che innescano direttamente o indirettamente processi di abbandono, ove non si riconnettano alle maglie storiche e non siano strutturati in relazione alle esigenze e alle impronte identitarie dei luoghi e delle collettività.

In the south of Palermo, among the residual agricultural areas of the rich cultivated plain called Conca d'Oro, there is the Arab-Norman complex of Maredolce-La Favara with its park, characterized by a large lake once fed by the "Fawara" spring, from which the toponym itself derives. Nowadays, the site is located in the industrial suburb of Brancaccio, but still preserves the memory of the original landscape, for the survival of the isle and of the system of hydraulic artifacts for the irrigation of the citrus grove. Today the Soprintendenza Beni Culturali e Ambientali of Palermo, owner of the property, has granted the private management of the park's agricultural areas. The interest in Maredolce was born from the recognition of these values. The research work, begun in 2016 with the participation in the Workshop of the Benetton Studies and Research Foundation which in 2015 had awarded on the park the "Carlo Scarpa International Prize for the garden" (XXVI edition), was later concretized in the thesis for the Specialization in Architectural and Landscape Heritage (Politecnico di Milano). A project for the conservation and enhancement of the Maredolce landscape complex has been drawn up. In particular, the aim was to make more readable the traces of the layering of the park and of the entire historicized cultural landscape of the Conca d'Oro, to preserve the witnesses and also to upgrade a periurban deteriorated area.

In the 18th century, the Posillipo coast seemed far from the splendor of the previous century, when it had been livened up by the Spanish Viceroy court and especially by the presence of Donna Anna Carafa. There still was not a road, many places were accessible only from the sea, and the Golden Mile (Miglio d’oro) near Vesuvius attracted the best financial and artistic resources. Nevertheless, the work of the Saint-Non artists shows that they found it extremely interesting thanks to the beautiful landscape, classical memories, and ancient Roman ruins. Starting from the Mergellina area, where the famous Crypta Neapolitana can be found, some palaces of the first coastal tract – among them Palazzo Donn’Anna itself – and then some “archaeological sites”, such as the Vergil School (Scuola di Virgilio) and the Villa di Lucullo, were drawn. In the engravings published by Saint-Non, there are also scenes of everyday life that, together with the attention for the physical morphology and local history, can form what we could call today a “cultural landscape”. Even though it is separated from the rest of the city, Posillipo possesses a clear identity that, also thanks to the work of artists, writers and travelers, from many points of view, displays the typical traits of the entire city.

The abandonment of the Romanesque chapels nearby Asti, today often isolated in the countryside, allowed the partial conservation of the original structures by protecting the ancient churches against the complete rebuilding, although, before being abandoned, they could have lived a time of occasional liturgy as well as of recovery as aristocratic churches. We want to outline the changes connected to the inhabitants’ relocation, a trend identified in the area of Asti since the XIII century. We want to compare the modernization applied to such architectures between the XIV and XV Century, when the apsis were renewed and frescoed. Our in-depth analysis will cross historical, architectural and cultural disciplines of the rock, reporting traditional sources and sources of matter. The news emerged so far are interesting: they connect laical creation and initiative, especially of the landlords, and reveal adaptations made leaving the heritage of the past unaltered.

This paper presents the diversity of Croatian Adriatic enclosed landscapes through their history and classification. The model of ‘landscape pattern’ is applied - the synthesis of information on land use, land structure, geomorphology, soil, agricultural practices and economic history. The result is derived from long-term research which has involved field work, terrestrial and aerial photo documentation, landscape history research, creation and analysis of various spatial and cartographic GIS data. Six general classes have been recognised (micro-clusters, individual enclosures, managed woodlands, pastures, fields and karst clearings for crops), as well as fourteen sub-classes, described and presented with illustration, photos and GIS data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines conflicts between the ideas of heritage and tourism, and advocates sustainable approach to tourism planning in cultural landscape. The research introduces heritage urbanism as a sustainable method for enhancing the role of heritage in tourism as a local development tool, stressing that active use of cultural landscape in tourism can bring about positive response to global competitiveness and development of a tourist site, regarding its positive influence on destination recognition and heritage revitalization. A case study carried out on the Croatian Island of Hvar investigates this tension between the preservation of the existing landscape's character and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the multifaceted nature of cultural landscape and the human perception. We are usually not aware of the significance of this multifaceted nature. By studying scientific publications and certain statutory provisions in the fi eld of environmental conservation, the author wanted to examine the diversity of the term cultural landscape and of the differences in our perception of it. This diverse picture (based on examples from the Slovenian Littoral region) incorporates fi ndings from different fi elds such as psychology, phenomenology, hermeneutics, aesthetics etc. The aim of this paper is to present the many layers of our perception and thus our interpretation of landscapes that influences also our relationship with and conservation of landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Il concetto di paesaggio culturale, al di là delle critiche giurisprudenziali che si possono muovere agli interventi normativi messi in atto negli ultimi anni, se accolto a livello territoriale può costituire un efficace strumento di valorizzazione del patrimonio culturale, inteso come l’insieme dei beni culturali ed ambientali. L’archeologia, in particolare, può beneficiare di un simile approccio e diventare uno dei tanti nodi della trama che si puó evidenziare su un territorio da valorizzare. Una proposta di gestione per il paesaggio culturale può essere rappresentato dal distretto culturale.The concept of cultural landscape, beyond jurisprudential criticisms that can be made to the regulatory intervention put in place in recent years, if accepted at local level can as an effective tool for enhancement of cultural heritage, intended as set of cultural and environmental objects. The archaeology, in particular, can benefit from this approach and become one of the many knots of the plot which can be point out on an area to be exploited. A proposal for management of the cultural landscape can be represented by the cultural district.

On the Ligurian Alps, south-west of the alpine chain, particular artefacts may be found at an altitude higher than 1400 m a.s.l. These artefacts are strongly connected, due to their collocation and function, to life on the mountain pastures. They are a silent testimony to the alpine, woodland and pastoral civilisation that for years has continued to herd the cattle to new pastures from June to September. The structures that can be observed are selle (or sèle) which are used to store cheeses and dairy products during the pasture months or giàss (or löve), temporary sleeping quarters, once used as primary spaces for milk production. Other construction types are the caselle, with a circular or quadrangular plan and usually covered by pseudo-vaults in concentric rows made of stones. Finally, balme were shelters constructed under huge irregular rocks. Structures like stables or barns can be observed at a lower altitude (1400-1600 m). They usually have two stone fl oors bound by lime mortar with architraves, attics and wooden coverings. As the altitude increases (1600-1900 m) the use of wood and lime decreases, because these materials are more difficult to find and to produce in such areas, while the use of dry stone (or stone bound with clay mortar) is more widespread. Thanks to the use of materials collected in the surrounding area, mountain pasture structures are successfully integrated with the natural landscape, becoming an essential part of it. Besides brick structures, which can be easily recognised, one may also observe a number of smaller details: lines of dry stone walls to separate pasture areas, tracks, small canals dug in the ground to channel water from streams, depressions in the ground to collect rain water and specific vegetation due to exploitation during pasture season. The landscape of mountain pasture is therefore anthropomorphised and it is difficult to preserve because its artefacts are fragile and precarious in that they are altered or eradicated rapidly, as a consequence of the abandonment of these areas by the cattle herders. Some features are by nature so ephemeral that they change in a few seasons, while others maintain their characteristics for longer even if they need constant maintenance that in pasture areas is guaranteed only when the area is still in use. Maintenance work on these constructions taken out in the last century were careless and did not consider local and traditional materials: cement mortar was inserted within the spaces between stones or at the extrados of stone vaults, a bitumen sheath was laid on the coverings or on the vaults of the séle, a metal plate was used to substitute the hay that was once used for "enclosed roofs" (thatched roofs enclosed by the two pediments of the house) and in rare cases attics were built with clay-cement or reinforced concrete to substitute wood, that probably crumbled. Structures and areas of pasture are cultural landscapes, with a strong connotation reflecting the long interaction between man and nature. The decline of traditional practices caused by the depopulation of mountainous areas (started in the post-war period of World War II) and by the abandonment of marginal areas, triggered a process of transformation of the semi-natural environment of mountain pastures involving structures and infrastructures which are not in use anymore. In order to preserve it, the cultural landscape of mountain pasture requires more and more interventions for an active safeguard and management of the territory. Mountain pastures are safeguarded in various ways but in the areas where pastoral economy is not active and no longer linked to cattle herding, their preservation is only passive, whereas in areas with a strong tradition of livestock and/or where tourism is a source of income, they are actively safeguarded. Moreover, even if there are different forms of safeguard for constructions and mountain pastures, we are still far from preserving the culture of mountain pasture life, with its tradition and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]