Ecomuseums and geosites community and project building

Abstract

The ecomuseum is a tool for the participatory management of the natural and cultural heritage of a territory. In many instances, we observe that ecomuseums define geology as a central factor of their action: adult and school education on environment and geology, collective organization of facilities for scholars and visitors, assistance to field research and protection of sites. After presenting the concept of ecomuseum and offering various examples of good practices in different contexts, we shall give a more detailed account of one exceptional site, where the ecomuseum has played a major role in revealing to the local population the existence and characteristics of a spectacular landscape sculptured by the Pleistocene glaciations: the Ivrea Morainic Amphitheatre, in the Italian Piedmont.