The project “Re-inhabiting landscapes: the Valbrevenna in the Ligurian Apennines” was born out of the post-graduate course “Documentation and management of minor historical settlements” organized by the DIDA Department of the Faculty of Architecture of Florence (AA 2013/14) and the two-year program agreement stipulated by the University with the Municipality of Valbrevenna and the Parco dell’Antola.
The project aims to revitalize the Valbrevenna through the design of a plan for the development and valorization of the landscape and its historical and architectural heritage. The project hopes to counter the trend towards depopulation, the loss of essential services available to the resident population, the abandonment of agricultural and productive activity, and the decline of infrastructure (mule tracks, terracing, rural buildings, forested areas, etc.) with its associated challenges of hydrogeological instability.
The project will develop a hiking loop based on the network of historic mule tracks (the only means of communication until the post-war period) and will link points of historical, cultural, architectural, and visual interest spread throughout the valley. The points will be organized into different thematic areas.
The itinerary will be a driving force for the development of innovative forms of agricultural entrepreneurship that promote tourism and recreation.
Only the revival of the home / workshop / territory system as a primary source of income, alongside desirable administrative and fiscal simplification actions by the Region, will allow people to return to living permanently in the area, which will have obvious positive effects on the territory.
Following a first phase of restoration and integration of the hiking network, a second phase will recover other elements of cultural interest in the area.
The elaboration of this project could represent a valid instrument for access to funds of different origins (European Community 2014-2020, Liguria Region, GAL, others).