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