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Working the landscape – Terraces and dry-stone walls between identity and values
Cembra, May 4, 2013
‘TERRACES ADOPTION’ PROJECT:
LOOKING TO FIND A SUITABLE CONTEMPORARY USE
Danilo Cecchini, Luca Lodatti, Cinzia Zonta Comitato ‘Adotta un terrazzamento in Canale di Brenta’
‘Terraces Adoption’ - Project Overview:
The Brenta Canal Area
-
Some geographic references:
- Valley Lenght: 22 Km
- Valley Average Width: 4 Km
- Surface square Km:
- Main towns: 7 municipalities (Bassano del Grappa,
Campolongo sul Brenta, Cismon del Grappa, Pove, Solagna,
Sdfsafan Nazario, Valstagna)
- Population: 11.389 (2001)
To the right; 1:50000 IGM Chart of the
area of study (IGM, 1970)
On top, encircled: the area of study,
within a map of the Veneto Region
‘Terraces Adoption’ - Project Overview:
Few hints on the area’s history and evolution
-
To the right : Two historic pictures portraying Valstagna in the first
decades of the 20th Century (Collezione Todesco)
A short history of the Brenta Canal:
- In ancient times it was a transit road
connecting the Padano-venetian Plain to
Northern Europe. In the moern age it
became a junction point for lumber
tradebetween Venice and the Asiago
Plateau
- From the 18th up until the 20th Century,
tobacco plantations were present in the
area. The construction of the first terraces
(locally known as ‘masiere’) goes back
to the same period construction of te
della coltivazione del tabacco e
(localmente ‘masiere’). The total lenght
of those valley slopes on which the
terraces were erected reach 230 km.
- In the aftermath of WWII tobacco
production plummeted and many towns
located on the steep slopes of the valley
were progressively abandoned,
- Today, only few of buildings are still
inhabited, and most of the valley
population concentrates in the valley
bed.
-
‘Terraces Adoption’ - Project Overview: The Brenta Canal today
Four recent
photographs of
the area of
study
The project has its roots in a number of
initiatives that, since the early 2000s,
promoted the study of the Brenta Canal
area’s terraces, and supported their
valorisation. Such initiatives have brought
public attention back to topics such as
landscape value of terraces and their role
in preventing hydro-geological hazards:
- The inauguration of the etnographic
museum ‘Canal di Brenta’ in Valstagna
(2003)
- The publication of the volume ‘Men and
Landscapes from the Brenta Canal’ (Perco
and Varotto, 2004)
- The activities of research and mapping,
included in the European Project ALPTER
‘Alpine Arc’s Terraced Landscapes’ (2005-
2008)
- The inauguration of the hiking track ‘The
High Road of Tobacco’ (2010)
‘Terraces Adoption’ - Project Overview: Previous experiences of
terraces research and valorisation
- Two retired school teachers fromi Bassano del Grappa asked the Valstagna
Municipality for permission to restore a terrace in order to cultivate vegetables and flowers (2009).
‘Terraces Adoption’ - The Project:
Inspired by chance
‘Terraces Adoption’ - The Project: Management structure
‘Terraces Adoption’ has been developed starting from spontaneous initiatives:
- A Committee in charge of managing the project’s activities has been instituted
-Partners of the Committee are the Municipality of Valstagna, the University of Padua, the CAI section of Bassano del Grappa, numerous local residents, and the tenants of the terraces
- The Committee functions as intermediary between owners of the terraces and the tenants/partners who cultivate and maintain them.
To the right: The ‘Adopt a Terrace in the Brenta Canal Area’
Committee’s first meeting,Valstagna Town Hall, October 2010
CLUB ALPINO ITALIANO
COMUNE
DI VALSTAGNA
UNIVERSITA '
DI PADOVA
Some potential obstacles to a successful 'adoption' and recovery of the terraces:
-The fragmentation of ownership
-Negotiations with owners
-Agreeing on shared maintenance and construction techniques
-Agreeing on shared overall framework for management
‘Terraces Adoption’ - The Project:
The Free-of-Charge Leasing Agreement
A legal leasing agreement was produced by the Committee, outlining rights and obligations
for the parties involved (obligation
to keep vegetation
under control, obl. to an acceptable and
responsible use, Ususcaption right of
ownership)
Above: Leasing Agreement and Annexed Use Regulations (Elaborati in collaboration with the University of
Padua, Department of Labour and Private Law, 2010)
‘Terraces Adoption’ - The Project:
Pilot-attempts at terraces recovering
Two terraced sites were chosen to begin the activities of recovery and maintenance. The first, Contrada Ponte Subiolo, was easily accessible, while the second, Val Verta, was a terracing more at risk of ruin and collapse.
Next, more sites entered the project, to reach a total number of 9.
Bird's-eye
photographs of the
pilote sites of Ponte
Subiolo (to the right)
and Val Verta (left).
THe areas coloured in
blue indicate the
areas recovered
throughout the
project
(Guido Medici
photos, image-editing
by the author)
- After two and a half years, the figures are: 80 project partners involved, 96
terraces reconverted to the cultivation of vegetables. Terraces were
'adopted' in 9 municipalities. 40% of tenants/cultivators come from the main
urban centers in the area (Bassano, Rosà, Marostica, 40% ca), but also from
Vicenza, Mirano, Dolo, and Venice. Over the last months the percentage of
young cultivators has increased (25% approx.), and so has the number of
association involved (mostly social cooperatives) The Agricultural Institute
'Parolini' of Bassano has also become involved.
‘Terraces Adoption’ - The Project:
Results achieved between October 2010 and May 2013
‘Terraces Adoption’ - The Project:
A first example of cultivation recovery
Below, an example of recovery. Yet, today we possess more direct testimonies…
Casarette Project
A social and agricultural redevelopment
pattern for the terraced areas of
Valstagna and the Brenta Canal
Sites of uncertainty: the Casarette terraces have lost their historical role and function (intensive tabacco cultivation, animal farming, subsistence agriculture, maintenance of the territory)
Sites of indecision the Casarette area was cut out, ever since the 1960s, from decision-making in the dimension of agricultural production, landscape maintenance, social integration and cultural heritage valorisation.
Sites of reflection. Abandoned sites suggest a multitude of questions. Our fundamental dilemma is: simple recovery or area redevelopment?
Sites of abandonement are sites of uncertainty
Recovery:
It links to memory and harkens back to a formal traditionalism. It looks at the past and 'fixes' a close ans static structure. Recoveries typically aim to defining patterns of cultural heritage redevelopment. We consider such approach only partially useful: it can lead to socio-culturally concrete and 'active' results only in very specific situations.
Recovery and Redevelopment are concepts inextricably linked to our present. Yet, the two terms open to quite different future developments:
Redevelopmente:
It links to memory, yet it also
presents itself as a project that endorses and nurtures the site's potentiala, from a productiveo, sociale, and cultural perspectivee. Redevelopment thus looks at the future, while relying on an open and dynamic structurea. Due to its focus on dynamism and on maximizing the areas' potentialo, redevelopment places itself within the historic process of interaction between tradition ed innovatione.
The Casarette Project: towards a stable and sustainable settlement, under a
human and environmental perspective
Casarette presents itself as an open (thus ready to involve at any time new environmentally sustainable proposals) and modular structure (thus composed of many integrated, and yet autonomous and self-sufficient modules). Our terraces re-development project is ultimately aimed at establishing a didactic farm.
The didactic farm - Re-development
MATERIAL: Re-activaton of the terraces. - Re-start cultivation: experimentation in plantations. New plantations shall not be specialized in one crop, but rather oriented to personal consumption, one-to-one trade, small-scale commerce. - Preservation of the natural and environmental balance, that often hinges on sustainability of the cultivated/not-cultivated land ratio. - Prevention from hydro-geological hazards. - Local buildings redevelopment
Maximum (if not exclusive) use of on-site materials and resources. The active involvement of local labour-force will prove essential. Non-invasive installation of solar panels, in pursuit of energy independence. Small-scale bee-keeping enterprise to be started in 2014. Establishment of infrastructures to be devoted to local-aware small-scale tourism (a form of tourism favoured by the non-existence of transit roads and consequent impossibilty of reaching Casarette by car).
SOCIAL:
Development of relationships under the
basis of participation, exchange and sharing:
with other actors: (individuals or groups)
who are part of a broader and comprehensive understanding of 'Adopt
a Terrace' (services, materials, equipment, seeds, other..). SOciability, knowledge and practices exchange.
with the town of Valstagna: community where we feel always integrated and
welcome. For instance, support of local workforce in gathering and structuring skills needed to implement the local projects, reactivation of dwells and
opening of trails.
activation of relatinships with other realities, working together with other
projects focused on uman and environmental sustainability (responsible consumption, seeds exchange, ancient seeds search, respect for the dignity of
living creatures, and so on..)
CULTURAL:
Preparation of a little section of a terrace for the cultivation of
tobacco , as well as the construction of a space following the traditional model for tobacco
drying and manufacturing.
Creation of a space within a cultural centre for the promotion of
mountain culture , human and environmental sustainability,
experimentation in crop-growing techniques and ecological
livestock breeding and life-style.
Establishment of a Seed Bank : for the autonomy, exchange and the
preservation of biodiversity
Promotion of activities in local schools: small conferences,
guided tours.
Field research : anthropological+ agricultural experimentation; alpine culture; tradition and innovation, historic memory.
ECONOMIC:
Construction of a context
that supports minimum wage earnings.
Valuation of public property: common spaces
are common opportunities