Cultural dimension of agricultural landscape: the study on protection, management, and governance of the multifunctional heritage

In view of global problems such as climate change, food shortage, and rural emigration, the protection of certain forms of agricultural landscapes is gaining a new meaning. Notwithstanding the growing number of globally recognized agricultural landscapes and the development of new legal and institutional tools for their protection, the agricultural landscape is often questioned as a blurred concept of heritage. In comparison with conventional cultural heritage categories such as archeologic artefacts, arts, monuments, or museum collections, the agricultural landscape has multiple functions (cultural, social, economic, food security, environmental), which imply a constant and inevitable process of transformation hardly accepted by conventional heritage conservation practices. The main question addressed in this research is whether and how the multifunctional nature of agriculture influences the protection and management of agricultural landscapes as a heritage? The thesis investigates the cultural dimension of agricultural landscapes from the conceptual, legal, and managerial perspectives. First, based on the critical analysis of the legal and institutional frameworks concerning the protection of agricultural landscapes in Europe, with particular attention on Italy, it demonstrates an increasing complexity of the interactions between the sectoral policy instruments at the regional level expressed in the duplication of functions and clashes of interests. Second, based on analysis of the primary sources, including the management plans and regulations, field observations, and 16 semi-structured in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, it investigates the local management and governance practices applied to the protection of heritage agricultural landscapes in Soave and Cinque Terre. It draws the ‘map’ of the interactions and interdependencies between the main stakeholders, their functions, and identifies the key governing entities. The research results suggest that the plethora of protection mechanisms and public policies, at the local level, can be reflected in the heterogeneity of locally adapted governance models, characterized by considerable institutional diversity and the prevalence of specific interests over the others. The research concludes with guiding principles that can be used in developing strategies for the management and governance of agricultural landscapes.