An Experiences Of Identification And Valorisation Of The Rural Landscape In Italy.

According to the European Landscape Convention (ELC, 2000) and the new Italian Code for Heritage and Landscape (2008), the valorisation of the landscape is a central issue for territorial policies and projects. An experimentation of the guidelines of the ELC and the Italian Code is research in the Turin Province developed with many institutional, economic and social actors, aimed at promoting awareness of territorial values and identifying policies, programmes and projects. The research leads to the formulation of valorisation and development projects in a number of areas of the Turin Province in the Piemonte Region (Italy), concluding with a 'Manifesto' for the landscape and local rural development aimed at defining guidelines for policies and planning. The Manifesto proposes a functional, social, economic and symbolic link between the town and the countryside as a territorial system, ready to share values and resources. This implies an agreement on the natural and social cohesion of the town and the countryside. This agreement is geared towards regulating the overall system in an innovative way, affecting not only the visible landscape, but also the inhabitable and liveable landscapes. These rural landscape projects are an experimentation aimed at valorising the quality of the territory; they constitute guiding principles and methods for the construction of a new image and new governance practices.