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The Invisible Landscape: Subsoil, Environment and the Italian Legislation on the Cultural Heritage

École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne, Paris

The study examines the Italian legislation on the cultural heritage and the environment, and points out the cultural gaps from the point of view of the definition and comprehension of these matters, and the delays surrounding the management of the cultural heritage in the territory. While theoretical debate on the environment in Italy has received a strong impulse in recent years, the cultural heritage continues to be governed by generally outdated laws of an essentially restrictive and punitive nature. The environment and cultural heritage are also seen by the Italian legislation as two separate entities, with negative consequences at the level of the protection, safeguarding and evaluation of the heritage. The study also puts forward a unified, dynamic view of the human environment (the interaction between human beings and the environment), which includes both the visible and invisible landscapes, the latter existing concealed beneath the surface. The proposed concept of the subsoil is that of a structured universe, in whose understanding and interpretation archaeology plays a determining role. By protecting and safeguarding only what 'we can see', i.e. the environmental and historic landscape above the soil, the law forgets that this is nothing other than the product of a series of partial landscapes fossilized and stratified in the course of time. By seeking out a new definition of the human environment, the study advances a conception that takes into account continuing transformations while not excluding an intuitive and emotional approach.

Key Words: cultural heritage • environment • Italian legislation • soil • subsoil

European Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 2, No. 2, 159-175 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/146195719900200202


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