Far-sightedness vs. emergency: A matter for "not outstanding" European cultural landscapes

Abstract

A far-sighted policy, designed to safeguard a State's land and culture, is one that would be able to go beyond emergency culture in the direction of shared far-sightedness in the territorial government, looking ahead to future generations. New and different visions capable of taking responsibility for fragile territories and landscapes are needed, rather than approaches that, to date, have only been considered as emergency policies. In order to realize such a new approach, some actions must be implemented, and this paper focuses on the most relevant ones: looking at heritage as a relationship among buildings, land, and intangible assets; garnering the attention of politicians and scholars to address fragile landscapes and inland areas; framing the issue in a European perspective; and pushing for moral and social commitment in identifying new working hypotheses and possible solutions.