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APPENDIX OF CASE STUDIES
LANDSCAPE OF TERRACES LANDSCAPE OF ANCIENT PLANTATIONS LANDSCAPE OF WOODS LANDSCAPE OF ALPINE PASTURES
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Geographical features and localization
The small settlement of Corippo is located in the Northern part of the Verzasca Valley, Canton Ticino (CH), more precisely into the district of Locarno, up to 563 meters. The municipality has 13 inhabitants and economically depends from the city of Locarno, 15 km far from it. The distance of services, the low accessibility and the absence of activities are the causes that brought Corippo to be subjected to a process of shrinkage in the last 50 years.
Environmental and landscape context
The municipality of Corippo is characterized by high environmental and landscape values. Terraces and dry stone walls are one of the most evident traces of human activities, made in order to make the soil cultivable and productive. Chestnut groves were distributed around this terraced landscape, followed by the sporadic presence of walnuts, apple trees, pear trees, cherry trees and by the system of open fields,
located on the edges of the agricultural fields.
Corgello is the highest settlement of the territory, part of a system of “monti” that has grown vertically with regularity till the 1300 meters. The surrounding territory of the valley is characterized by the presence of 50 small rural and temporary settlements. Nowadays, following what is happening in the other marginal territories of the Alps, this landscape is subjected to strong phenomena of degradation (reforestation, low maintenance of woods, abandonment of fruit trees and degradation of terraces). From an architectural point of view Corippo appears as the most preserved settlement in the Verzasca Valley. Its tissue is extremely compact and the settlement is distributed along an horizontal pedestrian axis linked by smaller paths, allowing the access to the rural historical buildings (that preserve traditional materials). The square represents the most important public space of Corippo. Historical presences are also visible in the cultural and religious elements located on the edges of Corippo: the chapels of Crosetta, Serta, Ponte di Liano, the bread bakeries, the storage for the chestnuts drying, the ancient wild mills.
The project
In the 1975 the Corippo Foundation has developed a project in order to reduce the phenomena of degradation and abandonment that characterize such a valuable architectural and cultural context. The project aims to develop an “albergo diffuso” inside the settlement, involving the vacant, abandoned or underused buildings. One of the key points of the project is to offer services that are the minimal and the necessary ones: collective spaces (showers, services, food service) are centralized while the rooms are more spread in the settlement. The first buildings to be regenerated are the
ones that belong to the Foundation, to obtain dwellings-rooms composed by small sanitary service and the recovery of the restaurant with its transformation and adaptation into a multifunctional buildings. The “albergo diffuso” has the strong value to be extremely flexible, with the possibility to upgrade the dwellings-rooms without impact modifications,
through a mechanism of reinterpretation of the settlement. The goal of the project is in fact to integrate, in a long term vision, the vacation houses into rooms for the “albergo diffuso”, through specific relations and partnerships
with the private owners. One of the central element of the project is a series of interventions proposed in synergy with the surrounding landscape, that gives origin to the so called Landscape Project (“Progetto di Paesaggio”).
Participation/stakeholders/investments
The Corippo Foundation plays a central role in the development of the “Albergo diffuso Corippo” under the economic, financial and
management point of view. From 1976 to 2004 the Foundation has been active as main actor of all the projects related to this small settlement. The Foundation is mainly composed by the Old Swiss Confederacy, the Canton Ticino, the municipality of Corippo. The most important activities managed by the foundation are related to purchase of dwellings (to reduce the real estate of vacation houses, the purchase of the building that hosts the restaurant and other units outside the settlement. The Foundation has also created a series of public infrastructures such as the recovery of the water deposit, covered parkings, electricity lines. The Foundation has lastly financed the recovery of windmill,
church, chapels, paths and some residential buildings.
Elements of attractiveness and weaknesses The project “Albergo diffuso Corippo” has many similarities with the strategic project for the Valley of Livo. First of all the context in which the settlement of Corippo is located, characterized by an high landscape value, is
Corippo: the settlement and the system of terraces
Corippo: perspective on traditional materials
Figure 1
Source: https://www.fondazionecorippo.ch/
in the same way recognizable in the Valley of Livo. The key element in the selection of the case study is the model of the “albergo diffuso” and a series of complementary actions for the landscape in order to propose touristic activities related to the territory and the local identity. The interventions on the recovery of the terraces and the reactivation of the plantations, as well as the maintenance
Figure 2
Source: https://www.fondazionecorippo.ch/
of the chestnut grove and the recovery of the historical productive infrastructure are finalized to the involvement of the users of the
“albergo diffuso”, who permanently act on the territory, following the traces of the local and traditional alpine culture. An other element of strength is the position occupied by the Foundation in the relation between local and sovra local stakeholders.
Corippo: perspective on historical path
Corippo: perspective on historical building
Figure 3
Source: https://www.fondazionecorippo.ch/
The presence of the Foundation has however influenced the typologies of interventions.
These, differently from what was defined,
didn’t involve the local population in the definition of the initiative. A following risk is the
missed involvement of companies and society related to the agricultural system (terraces, ryes, fruit trees). These stakeholders played a central role in the creation of a local economy
Figure 4
Source: https://www.fondazionecorippo.ch/
based on market of local products. The missed organization of intervention, recovery and regeneration of the rural and agricultural system creates the possibility to the development of economies that are not resilient, totally related to the tourists supply.
LANDSCAPE OF TERRACES LANDSCAPE OF ANCIENT PLANTATIONS LANDSCAPE OF WOODS LANDSCAPE OF ALPINE PASTURES
Project “Progetto Curzutt”, Monte Carasso, CH
Curzutt: the small settlement of Curzutt and the surrounding wine yards
Figure 5
Source: http://www.curzutt.ch/IT/Benvenuti-c3dfab00
Curzutt: perspective on some buildings of the settlement
Figure 6
Source: http://www.curzutt.ch/IT/Benvenuti-c3dfab00
Geographical features and localization
The rural settlement of Curzutt is located at the “mezza costa” on the Collina Alta in the municipality of Monte Carasso, in the district of Bellinzona (Canton Ticino). The settlement, accessible only by pedestrian routes or by the cable railway, has preserved the historical features, but in the last 50 years has been subjected to a process of degradation and abandonment, that had strong negative consequences on the surrounding landscape.
Environmental and landscape context
The landscape features of Curzutt have many similarities identifiable in the “mezza
costa” landscape in the Lombardy area of Prealps. The most important is the richness of environmental and natural elements, characterized by chestnut groves and pastures, in which the agricultural practices and the livestock of sheep and goat is still present, able to guarantee the alpine milk and cheese production. The area is located above the valley floor
of Bellinzona, and it’s characterized by the presence of small and scattered settlements, distributed around the church of San Bernardo (defined historical national monument). This
area is strongly characterized by the presence of an historical system of paths, that makes the small settlements connected. In this system of settlements Curzutt is the one that has preserved the historical and traditional features: stone walls, stone roofs (“piode”) and the distribution of spaces. Even if the few but still alive presences of rural practices have prevented the cancellation of the rural system, the entire area is nowadays characterized by strong phenomena of degradation: reforestation, alteration of chestnut groves, fragmentation of historical paths.
The project
The project started in the 1998 with the construction of the Curzutt and S. Barnard Foundation. Its aim was to promote and develop initiatives able to reactivate the district of Collina Alta di Monte Carasso. Specifically the main interventions were
oriented towards: the purchase of some rural buildings to transform them into an hostel for teenagers; the recovery of rural buildings for agricultural activities; the creation of the water pipes to carry the water in the area due to the absence of water sources in the territory; the creation of the electric lines in the all system of hills; the construction of the cable railway Monte Carasso-Mornera as the only way of transport to reach the settlement and the higher altitudes. Many micro interventions on the historical productive infrastructures have led to the recovery of paths, dry stone walls and the
and grapevines. At the same time a series of interventions on the environmental and agricultural systems have allowed the recovery of 150.000 mq of pastures, the revitalization and the maintenance of abandoned chestnut groves. The development of social and collective initiatives have followed the physical intervention previously described, through the presence of events, manifestations and collective activities.
Participation/stakeholders/investments
The Curzutt Foundation represents the main and central actor in the project. The implementation and the funds of the interventions took place thanks to the diversified presence of different investors,
both private and public, such as the municipality of Monte Carasso, Canton Ticino, the Confederacy, volunteering stakeholders and local cooperatives. Nowadays the Foundation is supported by an exigent number of sponsors and investors such as the National Swiss Fund for the landscape and the Swiss Foundation for the preservation of the landscape.
Elements of attractiveness and weaknesses
Differently from the case study of Corippo, the recovery of the settlement of Curzutt is not directly based on the model of “albergo diffuso”. It’s based on an articulated system of touristic fruition related to the territory and to the local identity. The recovery of the rural settlement and the main intervention to create the hostel for teenagers are complementary to the interventions made on the environmental and surrounding landscape. These ones aim to enhance the touristic flows and to generate attractiveness through
the recovery of the historical elements of the territory. These collective activities were designed both for tourists and for the local populations, school and volunteers. An other element of strength of the project is the complexity and the diversification of the
interest that took place in the project, as well as the coordination of the different stakeholders: national , local, private and public. The good result of the proposed interventions has generated an increasing attractiveness on the area. Many initiatives related to the touristic valorization of the territory have followed the project, such as the project Carasc, within which the municipality of Monte Carasso become main actor. Into the dimension of this new project the Foundation proposed the creation of a Tibetan bridge on the Valle Sementina and the recovery of other 250.000 mq of chestnut grove that, parallel to the recovery of the pastures, will boost the presence of the agricultural system in the mountains.
Curzutt: details of a degraded historical building
Figure 7
Source: http://www.curzutt.ch/IT/Benvenuti-c3dfab00
Curzutt: perspective on regenerated buildings that have preserved their historical features
Figure 8
Source: http://www.curzutt.ch/IT/Benvenuti-c3dfab00
LANDSCAPE OF TERRACES LANDSCAPE OF ANCIENT PLANTATIONS LANDSCAPE OF WOODS LANDSCAPE OF ALPINE PASTURES
Project “Valorizzazione cereali minori di montagna in Provincia di Brescia. Esperienze dalla Valle Camonica”
Geographical features and localization
Val Camonica Valley is located in the Northern part of the Brescia Province, that is spread from the Iseo Lake to the edges of Alps. Similar to other alpine territories, also in this valley the collapse of mountain agriculture has produced the abandonment of local practices and cultures and at the same time the simplification of the rural landscape. This
has brought to an impoverishment of the natural biodiversity and a loss of the identity and collective sense typical of these places.
Environmental and landscape context
The Val Camonica is extended along the Oglio river and it represents a context with a strong natural values, with a richness of landscape and environmental variety. For what concern the case study, Val Camonica, such as other valleys in the province, was in the past characterized by the cultivation of rye, buckwheat and barley. The fields
cultivated by rye were located on a system of terraces and were extended from the area close to the settlement till the upper territories of maggenghi. From the 50s of 1900 in this valley, as in the entire territory, the rye cultivation started to be abandoned. This process followed the general process of collapse of the first sector, and it’s also related
to the demise of the useful seed for mountain territories, substituted by new varieties that were not compatible with the alpine climate. Secondly the growth of agricultural activities in the valley floor and the upgrade of the
urban living conditions definitely defined
the loss and the abandonment of mountain agriculture.
The project
The project, promoted by the Mountain Community of Val Camonica and supported by the Mountain Study Center, aims to reintroduce the mountain cereal cultivations such as rye, buckwheat and barley. This experiment offers a possibility to enrich the agricultural supply of the valley, enhancing also the food sector related to restaurants and agriturismi, in order to preserve and valorize the historical and cultural identity. The project selected a series of pilot fields out of some
abandoned agricultural areas, in the territory
of 11 municipalities (Gianico, Dargo, Boario, Borno, Paspardo, Losine, Niardo, Capo di Ponte, Cevo, Malonno, Paisco, Loveno, Corteno Golgi) for a total surface of 2,10 ha. The experiment has been divided in two periods (2008-2009 and 2009-2010) in which all the phases has been monitored: seeding, manuring, harvesting, plowing. After these phases the rye have been dried in order to produce bread and pasta.
Participation/stakeholders/investments
The project has been proposed by the Mountain Community of Val Camonica with the support of the Mountain Study Center. Many small actors have been involved for the creation of the productive infrastructure of the rye, starting from the soil preparation till the sell of local products. In particular the farmers, the researchers, bread makers, schools and universities have contributed to the realization of the project.
Elements of attractiveness and weaknesses This case study, specifically related to the
historical mountain cultivations, is extremely important because it demonstrates the success and the efficacy of the reintroduction
of cereals in abandoned fields. Considering
the differences related to the geographic contexts, such as expositions, climate, soil composition, the cereal of rye showed a strong resistance to different kinds of environmental stresses. This means that the rye cultivation cold be experimented also on soils characterized by lower index of fertility. An other significative element are the different
typologies of collaborations presented in the project, that made possible the creation of a rural productive infrastructure, involving different actors, both private and public. In these typology of project it’s extremely important that the rye cultivation is not limited to be a specific agricultural experiment, but
it should be able to activate local economies related to he flour production, bread and pasta
preparation and the selling on local markets. This is a strong incentive for local farms and farmers, but also a useful tool able to valorize the related local product as a way to strength the local and cultural identity.
le se si vuole eliminare il cotico erboso e/o to di semina. Tale operazione è stata efmolte piante infestanti. Successivamen- fettuata dai primi di ottobre fi no alla mete, dopo una fresatura di 10-15 cm, il ter- tà del mese di novembre nei campi posti a reno è stato piallato e preparato per il let- quote inferiori. Campo prima della semina: Capo di Ponte
The agricultural field before the process of seeding Example of seminated agricultural field
Figure 9
Source: http://www.saporidivallecamonica.it/ “Valorizzazione cereali minori di montagna in provincia di Brescia”
Campo prima della semina: Capo di Ponte The harvesting process: the mechanical combine harvester
Figure 10
Source: http://www.saporidivallecamonica.it/
ESPERIENZE DALLA VALLE CAMONICA
Inconveniente, affi oramento sassi per effetto di un’eccessiva fresatura: Capo di PonteCampo seminato: Losine località “Rocal” Example of one of the tools used in the process to obtain rye flour
Quantità di semente: generalmente la quantità di semente più appropriata si ritiene compresa tra 130 e 150 kg/ha, normalmente vengono distribuiti 13-15 kg ogni 1.000 m², in relazione al peso della carios-
Figure 11
Source: http://www.saporidivallecamonica.it/
Mietitrebbia in fase di raccolta
Figure 12
Source: http://www.saporidivallecamonica.it/
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La mietitrebbia è una macchina che realiz- dimensione dei semi. za con una sola passata in campo l’intero Una mietitrebbiatura mal eseguita provoCampo seminato: Losine località “Rocal”ciclo della lavorazione: dal taglio di culmi ca riduzioni di produzione per sgranatu310 Campo seminato e rullato: Darfo Boario località “Digione” Mulino del Consorzio della Castagna di Valle Camonica(fusti della pianta nei cereali) alla trebbia- ra, infestazione dei campi e ottenimento tura. Sono macchine complesse e perfezio- di un prodotto qualitativamente inferiore, della Valtellina. A differenza del frumento, nuto in sali minerali. In ordine decrescente nate per adattarsi a ogni condizione lavora- più diffi cile da conservare. La raccolta è la segale contiene un glutine con bassa at- contiene: fosforo, potassio, magnesio, caltitudine panifi catoria. Sul piano nutrizio- cio, sodio, zinco, rame, manganese e fer-
LANDSCAPE OF TERRACES LANDSCAPE OF ANCIENT PLANTATIONS LANDSCAPE OF WOODS LANDSCAPE OF ALPINE PASTURES
Project “Recupero della borgata di Varda e rifugio diffuso”, Noasca, Piedmont
Geographical features and localization
Varda is one of the small numerous settlements that belong to the municipality of Noasca. It’s located in the Northern-Western part of Piedmont. The settlement of Noasca, accessibly only by feet, has a resident population of 197 people, that is distributed into the numerous fractions, that over the time suffered important phenomena of abandonment.
Environmental and landscape context
The settlement of Noasca belongs to the National Park of Gran Paradiso and to the Sentiero Natura, inside the aree of competence of Mountain Community of Orco and Noasca. The territory is characterized by wild and arduous areas and all the settlements are located in the mezza costa landscape, close to a plain surrounded by fields and delimitated
by dry stone walls and small irrigation canals. At the upper altitudes it’s still active the system of alpine pastures, thanks to the work done by the specific Recovery Plan (Piano di
Recupero degli Alpeggi). At the lower altitude the system of terraces represents another trace of the ancient human activities, followed by the open fields, The settlement system
still preserves rural traces of the alpine architecture: the building tissue is often dense and thick, due to the attempt to have larger fields for agricultural activities and usually
buildings are made by stone and wood.
The project
The project of “rifugio diffuso” is characterized by the choice to develop a proposal of light tourism (culture, hiking, sports, food, local identity). This typology of tourism aims to be compatible with the capacity of the environmental system, that should be considered the resource to develop a model of sustainable tourism. The goals of the project are: to enhance the touristic supply of the valle through the respect of the natural environment; to recovery and valorize the historical and cultural heritage: to defend and preserve the biodiversity; to boost a social-economic development.
The idea on which the “rifugio diffuso” is based starts from the opportunity to create new
touristic structures into the small settlements, avoiding the construction of new buildings, but using the existing ones. This model proposes a displacement of the units into the different settlements spread in the valley. For this reason is a model that fits with the
territories characterized by a huge presence of historical and local heritage and this model could be defined as a sort of “albergo diffuso
orizzontale”. To the strategic proposal it belongs also the reactivation of the rural productive infrastructure of the alpine milk. This idea starts from the presence of many active alpeggi in the Valley of Roc and Ciamosseretto. The productive infrastructure of the milk includes all the phases that are related to milk production: choose of livestock, selection of alpine pastures, milk production, product distribution. Central topic is the concept that valorizing and reactivating this infrastructure means to guarantee to the process certification
and preservation, creating a strong tool to communicate, to create competitiveness and to attract potential investors. All the elements involved in the project are: buildings (materials, energetic efficiency,
roofs, surrounding paths); alpine pastures (production laboratory, deposit, sanitary services, water pipes, drinkable water); accessibility (different options were proposed: pedestrian access by mule track, creation of pedestrian access by mule track, creation of car street, small railway system, creation of a cable transport).
Participation/stakeholders/investments
The main stakeholders involved in the project are the Municipality of Noasca, the National Park of Gran Paradiso, the Mountain Community and the private small actors. The Municipality, that is the leading actor, it’s responsible to the purchase, regeneration and recovery of the buildings to be transformed into units for the “rifugio diffuso”. It’s also the actor that gives to private stakeholders the management and the maintenance of the rifugio diffuso for a 20 years period, receiving back a small percentage.
Elements of attractiveness and weaknesses This project underlines many elements of similarity to the context of the Valley of Livo. Firstly the presence of a settlement, Varda, accessible only by feet on a mule track. Similar conditions are found in the settlement of Baggio, place where is proposed a project of “monte diffuso” that aims to attract a specific
target of tourist, who is interested in a different and not-traditional experience, searching for the beauty of landscape, hiking and the elements of the territory in isolated places, far from the services of the urban areas. A second element of similarity is the distribution
of rooms dedicated to the “rifugio diffuso”, spread in different places of the valley and usually connected by a system of rural or historical paths, that involve the tourists to discover and move into the territory. Thirdly there are similarities in the presence of a rural and environmental landscapes: the important system of paths the historically link the lower and the upper settlements and the traces of agricultural production that couldbecome an opportunity to be reactivated. Lastly should be underlined the role of the actors involved. Both in the case of Varda and in the one suggested for Valley of Livo the Municipalities (Noasca and Livo) and the Mountain Communities are identified as main
and leading actors, able to deal with local and extra local actors and to better use the local resources.
Varda: the ancient stone roofs of the settlement
Figure 13
Source: http://www.alpcity.it/
Varda: example of building in a state of degradation in which is still possibile to recognize the historical features
Figure 14
Source: http://www.alpcity.it/
LANDSCAPE OF TERRACES LANDSCAPE OF ANCIENT PLANTATIONS LANDSCAPE OF WOODS LANDSCAPE OF ALPINE PASTURES
Project “ Progetto Terra VIVA: il recupero del paesaggio terrazzato in Valle Antrona”, Verbania, Piedmont
Borgomezzavalle: the small settlement and its surrounding system of terraces
Figure 15
Source: http://www.mountcity.it/
Borgomezzavalle: example of underused terraces in a state of degradation
Borgomezzavalle: the involvement of schools, youngs and local population as one of the central points of the project
Figure 16
Source: https://www.italiachecambia.org/
Figure 17
Source: https://www.italiachecambia.org/
Geographical features and localization
The project is located into the municipality of Borgomezzavalle (Antrona Valley) in the Piedmont province of Verbano Cusio Ossola. The municipality has now 317 inhabitants, but, due to the abandonment of settlements and population migration, in the last 30 years has lost more than 300 inhabitants. This process, as usually happens in the alpine marginal territories, is associated to the recurrent phenomena of agricultural abandonment and to the collapse of the terraced system.
Environmental and landscape context
Antrona Valley is a transversal valley of the Ossola Valley, shaped by the river Ovesca, that runs into the Toce river. The valley presents in its entire physical development alpine features, characterized by an high degree of environmental and natural values, such as water streams and may small alpine lakes. The municipality of Borgomezzavalle is located in between the upper part of the valley and the valley floors, where the town of
Villadossola represents the main centre. In the municipal territory, in particular in the fraction of Viganella, is located one of the most important system of terraces of the entire valley. This system, as has happened for the other terraces in the valley and in the entire Alpine system, was subjected to numerous phenomena of abandonment and degradation caused by the attraction of the industrialization of valley floors, defining the decline of the
rural society. The constant abandonment of the terraces has caused the presence of invasive vegetation, the falls of the dry stone walls, the loss of biodiversity and the increase of hydrogeological instability. All these dynamics have progressively brought the cancellation of the collective historical and cultural identities of the rural landscape, in which the landscape was one of the main symbol of value.
The project
The project started in the 2015 financed by
the Association Scienze Naturali del Verbano Cusio Ossola, by the Natural Park of Valle Antrona, by the Cooperativa Il Sogno and it was supported by the Cariplo Foundation. The main goal was the valorization of the system of terraces through a resilient project, oriented towards the attention of the environment, the economy and the local identity of the places. The involvement of the local community and of the terraces owners has played a central and fundamental role in the realization of the project. This made possible to deal with the problem of abandonment of terraces and at the same time to overcome the problem of parcelling land, typical in the alpine territories. The private owners created the Land
Association Terra Viva, managed by the municipality of Borgomezzavalle, that defined
the Piano di Gestione dei Terreni Conferiti, oriented towards the commitment of the terraced soils to recovery and valorize them. Later, through the monitoring system of the abandonment state and the analysis of the invasive typologies of vegetation, the project started with a process of cleaning and recovery of the dry stone walls. Works aimed to preserve the historical features, techniques and materials that characterize these places, reusing local materials taken from ruins. The last phase of the project was oriented to the creation of an announcement to organize and distribute the management of the recovered terraces. Many young farmers answered to the announcement, interested in the cultivation of the saffron, one of the historical cultivation of the Antrona Valley, demonstrating that the agricultural alpine activities have still the possibility to grow.
Participation/stakeholders/investments
The project was firstly promoted by the
Association Scienze Naturali of Verbano Cusio Ossola, by the Natural Park of Valle Antrona, by the Cooperativa Il Sogno and by the municipality of Viganella. This was the group of actors that asked to the Foundation Cariplo to invest into the project “Resilient Communities”. The key element is been identified in the involvement of inhabitants
and owners in all the phases of the project, both from a partecipative and a design point of view. This made possibile the creation of the Land Association Terra Viva and the exchange of local and historical knowledge, extremely necessary for the result of the project.
Elements of attractiveness and weaknesses Even if the case study is strictly related to precise and specific geographical contexts,
there are many similarities with the project of the Valley of Livo. First of all the geographical and territorial elements, identified in the features of the
alpine landscape and in the process of abandonment of agricultural activities and terraces. Terra Viva project underlines the possibility to carry on these typologies of project, that has still possibilities to reactivate alpine economies, thanks to the investments and to the growth of young farmers interested on terraces and small local economies. One of the success point was the coordination and collaboration between the different stakeholders, that create a mix of knowledge and skills. In this case the multiscale and polyvalent diversification of the project was
central in every phase of the project.
LANDSCAPE OF TERRACES LANDSCAPE OF ANCIENT PLANTATIONS LANDSCAPE OF WOODS LANDSCAPE OF ALPINE PASTURES
Project “Progetto REGIO PLUS: valorizzazione della castagna nella Svizzera Italiana”, Malcantone, CH
Geographical features and localization
The project is developed into the area of Malcantone, in the Swiss Canton Ticino, involving 26 municipalities. The 67 % of the territory is occupied by large woods, often composed by chestnut groves, that in the last years have been subjected to a process of abandonment caused by the collapse of economic productive infrastructure of the chestnut.
Environmental and landscape context
The area of Malcantone is characterized by a varied and diversified territory that is extended
by the valley floor along the Western part of
the Lugano lake, till the mountain areas that define the border with the Italian territory.
Due to the rural identity of the place, still visible in the morphology and the tissue of the settlements and the temperate climate conditions, the area of Malcantone was in the past an important area for the chestnut cultivation, characterized by the presence of a large variety of chestnut, with many example of monumental chestnut trees.
The project
The project, started in the half of the 2000s, was commissioned by the Municipalities Association of Malcantone region. The association was created in the 1976 in order to guarantee a landscape and economic development for the entire region. The main goal was the valorize the chestnut grove through the creation of a rural productive infrastructure: enhancement of the chestnut production, creation of a producers association, development of a marketing campaign. Through the sell of chestnut fruit and its products the attempt was to create resources for the management and the maintenance of the chestnut grove. The project has in fact defined 10 specific
actions: creation of a chestnut producers association; monitoring of the local varieties and their qualities; certification of the product;
integration between the chestnut product into the Ticinese marketing system; incentives to the right maintenance of the chestnut groves; derived products advertisement: integration of the chestnut with other food products; production upgrade; enhance of the selling
management and conservation; development of harvesting techniques. From the interventions point of view, the first
ones were oriented towards the maintenance of the chestnut grove: undergrowth cutting and cleaning, pruning, plantation, graft, seeding. These interventions were necessary to activate the productive infrastructure and to deal the abundance of the chestnut trees, managed by the Association of Chestnut Cultivators of the Italian Switzerland that, with the collaboration of the different partners of the project, has also managed the selling and the marketing phase. An other important part of the project was the creation of a chestnut thematic path, as touristic element to valorize the fruition of the territory. This path is composed by a series of thematic points, in which the tourist can know about the chestnut landscape. Along the thematic path are also present different stops, where local markets and “agriturismi” offer the possibility to taste chestnut products and its derived.
Participation/stakeholders/investments
As previously said, the project was developed by the Municipalities Association of Malcantone region. This association is active in the Malcantone area though different proposal of touristic activities. Its goal is in fact the touristic, landscape and socio-economic valorization of agrituristic projects, the preservation of the historical and cultural landscape, the creation of partnerships and collaborations, the development of touristic infrastructures to promote local products. To the association belong many stakeholders and investors such as the Swiss Confederacy, Canton Ticino, Wood and forest Office,
Patriziati and Municipality of Arosio, Mugena, Vezio, Fescoggia ed Aranno, the Swiss Fund for the landscape, the Touristic Body of Malcantone, Malcantone Region. An important contribute came also from the Association of Chestnut Cultivators of the Italian Switzerland.
Elements of attractiveness and weaknesses
This case study represents a strong support to the strategic proposal of the Livo Valley to valorize the chestnut productive infrastructure under an economic, social and environmental point of view, involving private and public actors.
Moreover this case study underlines how this kind of proposals could create new initiatives, such as the creation of the thematic path. This is an important example able to integrate the touristic supply with the use and the preservation of local natural resources, involving also local population in the management of these touristic activities.
LANDSCAPE OF TERRACES LANDSCAPE OF ANCIENT PLANTATIONS LANDSCAPE OF WOODS LANDSCAPE OF ALPINE PASTURES
Project “Alpe Pedroria e Alpe Madrera,” Val Gerola e Val D’Albaredo, Lombardy
Geographical features and localization
The Alpe Pedroria and Alpe Madera are located in the Orobie Alps, in the valley above the settlement of Talamona (Sondrio). They are placed at at 1370 mt and 1920 mt into a system of alpine pastures spread in the valley, on the edges between the provinces of Sondrio and Bergamo.
Environmental and landscape context
This area in the last decades has been characterized by the presence of many phenomena of abandonment of pastures, caused by the industrialization of the valley floor and the low accessibility of the areas
where alpine pastures are located. The alpine pastures belong to the Park of the Orobie Valtellinesi, that include a landscape with an high presence of alpine pastures, woods and small temporary historical settlements. The area is currently under the supervision of FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano).
The project
The main goals of FAI is the preservation of the high naturally and biodiversity of the area tthrough the valorization of the alpine landscape and the reactivation of the rural productive infrastructure of the Bitto cheese, though the recovery of a series of alpine pastures for a total surface of 200 ha. Two are the main strategic actions: the recovery and the valorization of the production of the alpine pastures and the promotion of a marketing campaign to learn, teach and educate about these historical traditions, supported by a series of collective activities in the alpine pastures.
Participation/stakeholders/investments
The project is mainly developed by the FAI, who receive the two alpine pastures as legacy from the previous owners. An active part is also played by the small private actors that have been involved: milk producers, settlement owners, local markets. As usually happen for these typology of projects, a skey element is represented by the collaboration and the involvement of the local population. This in fact brought an higher and deeper knowledge of the territory, fundamental elements for the project realization.
Elements of attractiveness and weaknesses
The project of Alpe Pedroria and Alpe Madrera is strictly connected to the one of Livo Valley. Many are the elements of similarity. Firstly the reactivation of the alpine milk and cheese production as an element of value. Secondly the promotion of a campaign of local products marketing, able to boost the knowledge of these products. Thirdly the regeneration of the settlement heritage, that is currently in a state of degradation. Lastly an other important element of similarity is the development of collective and touristic activities involving schools, local entrepreneurs, residents and tourists in a consolidated touristic supply, that could guarantee the preservation of oral historical traditions and cultures.
Alpe Pedroria: the landscape characterized by peaks, mountain vegetations, woods, pastures and historical productive buildings
Figure 18
Source: https://www.fondoambiente.it/
LANDSCAPE OF TERRACES LANDSCAPE OF ANCIENT PLANTATIONS LANDSCAPE OF WOODS LANDSCAPE OF ALPINE PASTURES
Project “Ostana, ipotesi di recupero di una borgata alpina”, Cuneo, Piedmont
Geographical features and localization
The small settlement of Ostana is located into the Alta Valle of Po, one of the Occitan area of Piedmont, in the Province of Cuneo. More than 100 years ago the settlement was populated by more than 1200 people, but the number drastically felt down to 10 in the last decades. This process of abandonment and migration followed the trend of the alpine territory, as already explained and described.
Environmental and landscape context
The municipality of Ostana is geographically located between 895 and 2426 meters in front of the Monviso Mount, delimited in the valley floor by the Po river and by the alpine peaks
of the Po and Pellice Valleys. From a land use point of view, the territory is characterized by the presence of broadleaved trees (chestnut and oaks) and fields till the 1500 mt. Over
the 1500 mt the territory is shaped by alpine pastures and small portions of larch woods. Ostana could be defined as a poly-centric
settlement, made off by a dozen of small fractions built up in the intersections between the street and the hydrographic system. Most of the fractions, located below the 1500 mt and surrounded by broadleaved woods and fields, present a large and dense tissue. Over
the 1500 mt, where the territory is dominated by the alpine pastures, the fraction are smaller ad farer, sometimes made by a single building. The change in the elevation brings also a change in the construction materials, moving from more complex typologies to simpler ones, usually cubic-shaped.
The project
Since the half of the 80s Ostana became object of a long term project of regeneration and valorization, mainly based on 3 thematics: valorization of the landscape and architectural heritage, the support to a form of sustainable tourism and the promotion of the Occitan language and culture. But one of the aspects that made Ostana a reference for other projects of reuse and valorization is the relation between the recovery of the existing settlement heritage and the graft of new realizations. The project in fact offers a perfect equilibrium between ancient and
modern, recognizable in the multiplicity of interventions: public and private works, buildings, municipality units, touristic structures, services, public spaces and pedestrian paths. This important feature appeared in different phases: above all, since the 80s a series of interventions of residential recovery brought a concept of sustainability in the use of material and local techniques, totally contextualized with the territory and in the historical tissue.In the last decade, these interventions have been followed by new constructions of building for public services. This phase started in the 2007 thanks to the collaboration with the Polytechnic of Turin, able to attract a group of experts and start with them different collaborations. These important collaboration made possible the realization of new touristic and cultural services, supported by investment obtained through public funds and competitions. The first collaboration aims to built up a
small SPA and sport building, characterized by an energetic autonomy and efficiency
(solar, wind and geothermic energy) and by a structural use of the stone, that in the last decades was abandoned due the seismic risk.A second collaboration is focused on the entrance of the settlement, the so called Porta Occitana. The area will be characterized by the creation of a buildings for indoor events, an info point space, a commercial space, a small public square and an outdoor climbing gym. The element that made possiible these collaborations was the project of total recovery (Piano di Sviluppo Rurae) of the abandoned fraction Miribrart, with the inauguration of the Cultural Centre Lou Pourtoun (2015). The space is designed for artistic expositions, workshops, events, and a political school that had the privilege to host Ciotti and Gustavo Zagrebelsky. This second phase of the project was characterized by a strong capacity to design and deal with the alpine traditional architecture in a contemporary way, avoiding simplification and traditional stereotypes of the
alpine style. Both the recovery interventions and the ruins reconstructions have been made after a strong and deeper study and understanding of the distribution of spaces, looking at the same time to the contemporary living conditions. This knowledge is also visible in the reuse of the aggregation modalities of the volumes, the spatial articulations between indoor and outdoor and in the use of traditional materials of public spaces and buildings. Two important examples of these are the Cultural Centre and the SPA and sport centre. The first one recalls the Occitan traditional
architecture typology of the building based on the tridimensionality of the covered space. The second one tries to reclaim the planimetry
and the volume distribution of the existing buildings with the graft of a new function.
Participation/stakeholders/investments
The success of the project of Ostana comes from the multiplicity and variety of stakeholders involved in the process of transformation and valorization of the settlement, starting from the organization of the bodies involved: regions, Mountain Communities, provinces, local actors, mayors, municipality staffs. In addition was also important the role of designers, local companies and the involvement of local inhabitants, able to guarantee technical and local knowledge.
Elements of attractiveness and weaknesses
The project of Ostana, as previously described, is consider a strong and important reference for the regeneration and valorization of the alpine settlements. There are many similarities between the project of Ostana and the one proposed for the Livo Valley, according to different thematics. The first one could be identified in the in the
attempt to propose a project suitable both for a touristic supply and for the local resident population. This is explained through the series of interventions on different parts of the settlement tissue: public spaces, paths, services, touristic buildings. This follows the idea to propose a sustainable form of tourism ,avoiding the creation of a touristic model based on the exploitation of the territory resources.
A second element of similarity could be identified at the scale of architectural
interventions. Both the projects focused on the reuse of local materials (stone and woods above all) as main materials that should be used for the regeneration interventions. This wants to preserve the integrity of the tissue and ita historical and cultural value.
An other important element that links the project of Ostana and the one of Livo valley could be found in the project of total recovery for the abandoned settlement of Miribrart, that has similar features to the one of Argesio. The introduction of new functions, associated and parallel to the context and the local resources, demonstrates the possibility to recovery also abandoned settlements. Over these specific elements of similarity the
two projects share also the main and general aim on which they are based: the regeneration and the valorization of two alpine settlements, through the valorization and preservation of heritage, culture and identities.
Ostana: rendering of the project with the different typologies of buildings proposed
Figure 19
Source: https://ambornetti.it/
Ostana, example of regeneration: the use of traditional materials for buildings and pavements
Ostana, example of regeneration: the use of traditional materials and the transformation of a containment wall into a public open space
Figure 20
Source: https://ambornetti.it/
Figure 21
Source: https://ambornetti.it/
