Assessment of the Terraced Landscapes’ Integrity: A GIS-Based Approach in a Potential GIAHS-FAO Site (Northwest Piedmont, Italy)

The GIAHS-FAO program enhances the agricultural systems coevolved with humans through their dynamic conservation to guarantee the livelihood of future generations. The aim of this research was to assess, with a dynamic perspective, the terraced landscape’s integrity in a potential GIAHS-FAO site (Northwest Piedmont, Italy, 545 ha) characterized by a pergola caremiese vine-breeding technique. We developed a GIS-based approach to explore the main features that can affect the landscape’s integrity, starting from the changes of the land use. The aerial IGMI images (1954–1968) and the AGEA (2018) orthophoto were photo-interpreted using QGIS 3.16.2 “Hannover” (minimum mappable unit 100 m2). The results showed that 70.16% of the historical landscape was preserved, while the surface of vineyards decreased because of their abandonment. We observed that vineyards are the land use that requires more attention in future planning strategies, and that the landscape’s integrity is affected by the limited introduction of non-traditional vine-breeding techniques (espaliers) and new crops (olives groves). The methodology was able to assess the terraced landscape’s integrity in a dynamic perspective. The good integrity makes the study area a potential GIAHS-FAO site. Future planning strategies will have to lead the changing processes and preserve the landscape’s integrity

Conservation and Management of Agricultural Landscapes through Expert-Supported Participatory Processes: The “Declarations of Public Interest” in an Italian Province

The adoption of the European Landscape Convention by the member states of the Council of Europe emphasized the importance of raising awareness of, promoting and educating local communities in, and fostering the activism of all European citizens in the process of transforming the European landscape. The work carried out by the Landscape Observatory for Montferrat and Astigiano was to raise awareness in local communities regarding landscape protection processes that those communities could steer, as required by the Code of the Cultural and Landscape Heritage of the Italian State (2004). Consequently, for the first time, a participatory model was established in the province of Asti and the Piedmont region in Italy to support the community-driven requests for a special protection decree for some targeted areas. In this paper, the process and novel multisource methodology used for the two pilot cases are reported, where the landscape values to be protected were identified through local community involvement. Supported by the Landscape Observatory and experts, the broad participation allowed their recognition of Public Interest. These recognitions are relevant because they rely on a shared perspective of populations for the self-management of their landscapes. They represent an operational model for other local communities in the Council of Europe countries

Urban Green Development and Resilient Cities: A First Insight into Urban Forest Planning in Italy

The research proposes an application of a modification of the 3–30–300 rule to identify areas that require Urban Forestry implementation in small and medium-sized Roman and/or medieval urban areas. The selected case study is that of Asti in Piedmont, Italy. An open source, cross-platform desktop geographic information system is used to process geospatial datasets via qualitative analyses of electoral sections (or wards). An analysis of the number and distribution of trees around each building is performed, in addition to the calculation of tree canopy cover and distance between buildings and green spaces. Findings reveal that 64 out of 70 wards have an average of at least three trees per building and sufficient green areas of at least 0.5 hectares within 300 m of the buildings. Additionally, the tree canopy cover ranges from approximately 0.6% (lowest) to about 55% (highest) for the electoral sections. Lastly, findings suggest that the highly built-up urban fabric in these areas may significantly affect the availability and quality of green spaces. In conclusion, the case study proves the benefits of applying the 3–30–300 rule to small and medium-sized urban areas using an integrated assessment approach based on nature-based solutions and ecosystem services

Landscape and Agriculture 4.0: A Deep Farm in Italy in the underground of a Public Historical Garden

Each landscape is the result of an encounter with the culture of a community and the physical features of a territory. The conservation of the historical, artistic, and cultural heritage represents a priority for any society that wishes to draw on references for its civil progress. The aim of the present research is to combine the richness of the historical–cultural heritage with innovative forms of agriculture. It focuses on the recovery, in productive terms, of an air-raid shelter used during the SecondWorldWar, located in the center of Varese beneath the Estensi Historical Gardens. The project involves the construction of an underground Vertical Farm (Deep Farm) with the aim of restoring a place of memory, making it more accessible than it is today, and raising public awareness about a new cultivation model. A Deep Farm was designed with a cultivation area in the middle, an educational room, and two hygiene rooms, one at each end of the tunnel. A Vertical Farm was conceived to be shared with local stakeholders to produce vegetables and to foresee an innovative reality in the field of education and tourism. This project has the ambition of representing a model that could be used for similar Italian realities and enhancing meeting places between landscape and modern culture diversities