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preservo ergo sum |
“Without roots, not only trees die but also cities, landscapes and human beings."
(Pier Luigi Cervellati, “Civiltà. Tra differenze e in-differenze”, Strategie per sopravvivere.)
The landscape, meant here as a form of cultural heritage, is the result of an ongoing interaction between mankind, nature and the physical environment in different societies.
“It bears witness to the evolutionary relationship between society and individuals, respectively, and their environment. A process that is sometimes protracted over eons, which defines the identity of the places, a basic element within the identity of the communities living in these places. But the question is whether our society - and the culture that it represents - is able to interact with nature and the configuration of the landscape in the same way as mankind did in the past, whose heritage we now admire, and in which we can discover a core element of our identity.”
(Edoardo Salzano, “Paesaggio e pianificazione”, 1st National Conference on Landscape, Venice, 2 July 1999)
Mankind’s negative impact of has been directly responsible for the loss of over 50% of global cultural heritage in the last century. The safeguarding of non-renewable physical resources is fundamental to the preservation of history, which in turn, shapes human values, pride and dignity. Cultural heritage is not only a legacy of the past, but also forms a tangible part of the present. Hence, the preservation of cultural heritage is essentially a humanitarian process.
The positive impact of conservation work affects communities directly and constructively. Without a better understanding of the importance and benefits of cultural heritage sites, destruction will continue to overwhelm conservation efforts. It is therefore reasonable to affirm that educational programmes devoted to conservation serve as an essential building block for future sustainability. |
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