The Italian National Register of Historical Rural Landscapes

In recent years, the role assigned to rural landscapes has gained importance in Italy, both at scientific and political levels. Some political decisions in the field of agriculture and planning have recognized the multifunctional role of traditional rural landscapes. It is widely recognized by the scientific community that these landscapes can be of fundamental importance for the economy of many rural areas, for their connections with tourism, for high-quality productions, for the conservation of agrobiodiversity and for reducing hydrogeological risk. In Italy, one of the main changes concerning the Italian rural landscape is the Decree n. 17,070 of 2012 by the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Forestry Policies about the institution of the “National Observatory of Rural Landscape, Agricultural Practices and Traditional Knowledge”. Among the tasks of the National Observatory of Rural Landscape can be found the surveying of landscape, of agricultural practices and of traditional knowledge considered to be of particular value, and the promotion of research activities for studying the values associated with the rural landscape, its preservation, its management and planning and even advancing the goal bio-cultural diversity. Itmust also develop general principles and guidelines for the protection and enhancement of the rural landscapewith particular reference to action taken under the Common Agricultural Policy. In addition to the landscape, the decree is aimed at the preservation and enhancement of “agricultural practices and traditional knowledge”, defined as “complex systems based on ingenious and diversified techniques, on local knowledge expressed by rural civilization, which have made a major contribution to the construction and maintenance of traditional landscapes”. This decree has also established the “National Register of Rural Landscape, Agricultural Practices and Traditional Knowledge”. Through this Register, the Ministry identifies and catalogs “the traditional rural landscapes or landscapes of historical interest present within the national territory and connected traditional practices and knowledge, defining their significance, integrity and vulnerability, taking account both of the opinion of scholars and of the values ascribed to these landscapes, practices and knowledge by the concerned communities, subjects and populations”. There are currently 13 landscapes and 2 traditional practices inscribed in the Register. The Register is also the first step to access international programs, such as the Globally Important Agriculture Heritage Systems (GIAHS) program developed by FAO or the UNESCO World Heritage List.