Il paesaggio

THE LANDSCAPE
Landscape translates the Italian word paesaggio which derives from the Latin
pagus = village, residential grouping in the country. Paesaggio, differently from panorama
(from the Greek pan = all and hòrama = view) necessarily implies the presence of man. It is
for this reason that landscape has become the portion of territory considered from a
perspective and descriptive point of view; generally with affection which, more or less, can
include an artistic or aesthetic evaluation. Landscape is the organized space that has limits
and physical characteristics upon which human actions are modelled. To know a territory
means to know how to see and understand the relationships between the various facts
which form its context; it means to know the specifics, physical and anthropic
characteristics, to know how man in the past interpreted them and how historically the
organization of the territory came about, as it is today. The territory of central-eastern
Sardinia, in particular that relative to the small towns of Oliena, Dorgali, Baunei and
Urzulei, is interesting for the natural aspect and spectacular setting of these places, as well
as for the complex relationship between man and nature which has often made human
activities here difficult. The considered area, in essence, presents, from a physical point of
view, a precise convergence of the territories, while historically and culturally they have
always been separate.
The entire coastline of the examined area is characterized by dense, low-lying
maquis composed of heather, lentisk and cistus combined nearly everywhere with centuryold
juniper which rise up from white Jurassic limestone formations. In central-eastern
Sardinia the primary forest is composed of Holm-oak, with enormous, ancient, 1000-yearold
specimens which can be considered true living monuments. The fauna in the area is
particularly rich and includes nearly all the large-sized animals present on the island. This
fauna is of notable interest as the last examples of griffons in eastern Sardinia are found here,
as well as the last bearded vultures and cinereous vultures. There are also rare species
present such as the royal eagle and peregrine falcon.
Crossing Sardinia, one notices that the countryside is largely deserted and the
human population is almost exclusively grouped in villages. One dynamic element that is
closely linked to the life of the inhabitants is the residential construction, which has
undergone considerable modifications since the last war. Socio-political changes, and
cultural changes in general, have occurred rather slowly and so, often, transformations in
terms of constructions and urban fabric have taken place sporadically, mostly dictated by
needs of dignity or convenience. These factors brought about on a rather widespread scale
the first attempts to “beautify and restore” the old town centers, changing, sometimes even
irreparably, their physiognomy.
Just as the considered areas have endured the previous phases of development and
as they continue to live the current phases, it is essential to understand how the perception of
the landscape’s value and the credibility of new projects for local development have changed.
The current phase of development in the region has called for choices which, through the
recovery of or final abandonment of this patrimony, will determine either the consolidation of
or redefinition of the current regional context.