2. What is GUARDIA?
A little village that belongs to the
municipality of Folgaria
Height: 875 m a.s.l.
Placed on the left slope of the valley of
Rio Cavallo
Distance from Folgaria: 10 km
Distance from the Adige Valley: 10 km
Closest villages: Mezzomonte (at 5 km)
and Serrada (at 4 km)
Regular inhabitants: 73 people
Summer population: about 150 people
Public facilities: a bar-restourant
10. From the Austrian historical cadastral map (1865)
woodlands
vineyards
meadows
crops and fruit trees
11. A description of the traditional rural landscape.
“I came in Serrada at 10 in the morning and after a
break I went westwards.
As I crossed the fields of those rough mountain dwellers,
I saw that they were cultivating wheat, rye, barley,
cauliflower, turnip, broad bean and buckwheat, which
does not become ripe when the season is
unfavourable.
Anyway, up there the best cares were payed to
cabbage. …”
Pietro Giuseppe Adalpreto Cristofori (1765-1848),
during a botanical excursion on the Mount
Finonchio which took place on June 20, 1817.
12.
13. dung
grass, hay, fodder,
straw, wood,
branches, foliage
(dung)
grapes, cereal,
vegetables
Ondertol (639 m)
Pozzi (550 m)
Guardia (875 m)
Prai del Finoncio - Pra dei Guardiani (1500-1600 m)
Boschi de la Guardia - Val dei Guardiani (900-1500 m)
Vertical relationships
14. Guardia, 1960
The village and the ancient
belt of crops.
The belt of woodlands.
The belt of grasslands and
pasturelands.
15. Guardia’s pupils in 1920:
37 boys and girls
Guardia’s regular inhabitants in 2013:
73 people
17. Is GUARDIA
an unlucky place to live?
Long-lasting geographical
isolation
Unfavourable north-facing
exposition
Steep terrain
Forced exodus during the First
World War, migrations,
depopulation, ageing
Missed involvement in the
tourist growth of Folgaria
Real risks: fringe collocation,
land abandonment, loss of
identity
18. 1861 2009
Northern slope of Mount Finonchio:
changes in rural landscape over the last 150 years.
19. Surveyed surface area
(661,9 hectares)
Variation (1861-2009)
Buildings, roads, infrastructures 5,55 ha → 14,13 ha
Woodlands and wastelands 578,29 ha → 615,02 ha
Meadows, pasturelands, crops,
vineyards, orchards, kitchen
gardens 78,06 ha → 32,75 ha
20. Guardia’s current rural surroundings:
small glacial terrace with handmade terracing and grassy embankments, mostly
with meadows (crops prevailing in the past);
rather large terraces, from slightly to highly steep;
dry stone walls made of prevailng limestone.
22. The collective mowing of the meadows
of Guardia:
Promoted by the «Circolo Culturale e Ricreativo di
Guardia»
Practised for more than 30 years
An annual mowing at the end of June
The involved terrain covers about 15 hectares; it is
private; it belongs to several owners; it is largely
placed on steep slopes
Hand and mechanical mowing (the «Circolo» owns
tools and machinery)
Self-run non-profit activity
The revenues from the selling of hay and a public
financing cover the costs
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28. Environmental outputs of the collective mowing:
Preservation of the typical mountainous landscape
characterised by combination and alternation of
various patches (woodlands, pasturelands, meadows,
orchards, vineyards) (a kind of landscape which is
commonly defined as «beautiful» and «appealing»)
Maintenance of biodiversity (high variety of plant
species, animal species, habitats and ecosystems)
Preservation of the typical mountainous landscape
characterised by combination and alternation of
various patches (woodlands, pasturelands, meadows,
orchards, vineyards) (a kind of landscape which is
commonly defined as «beautiful» and «appealing»)
Maintenance of biodiversity (high variety of plant
species, animal species, habitats and ecosystems)
But there are social outputs too…
29. Pressure of geographical
and environmental
features and decline of the
traditional mountain
economy
Migrations, depopulation, land
abandonment
Reinforcement of the
sense of identity, the
sense of belonging and
social cohesion into the
last inhabitants
«Bottom-up», self-run,
non profit, collective
initiatives and activities of
various types (cultural,
recreational, tourist,
environmental)
Shared and sustainable
community pattern,
aimed at preserving local
identity and giving added
value to the territory.
Contrasting land
abandonment and
uniformity of
places, landscape
and landforms
Virtuous circle!
30. The needed «ingredients»:
A local community characterised by high sense of
identity, public spirit, social cohesion and
responsibility
General awareness of the importance of these
«bottom-up» good practises and consequent support
from institutions (local, regional, national, European
institutions)
Clear and easy-to-apply laws and regulations
Initiatives aimed to make these «bottom-up» good
practises be known, appreciated and supported
But…
how long
will they
resist?
31. … that has to be known
… that is worth encouraging
… that needs to be sustained
… that could be extended to other similar fringe
mountainous sceneries.
A «bottom-up» good practice…
32. If you want to know more about the village:
LARCHER F., 2007- Guardia, published by «Circolo Ricreativo Culturale Guardia»,
311 pages
If you want to know more about the collective mowing and the environmental
scenery:
SARZO A., 2009- I prati di Guardia: un insolito modello di autogestione collettiva
del paesaggio rurale tradizionale. Ann. Mus. Civ. Rovereto, Vol. 25: 149-201
http://www.museocivico.rovereto.tn.it/UploadDocs/3291_art08_sarzo.pdf
33. This is the end of
the annual
collective
mowing:
what are they
doing?
