The rural landscape of the Valley of the Temples becomes a national historic heritage site
Green light from the Ministry of Agriculture to register an area of over 300 hectares. A recognition of public-private collaboration to protect a unique context
2' min read
2' min read
The rural landscape of the Valley of the Temples has been recognised as a historical Italian rural landscape. This is a step forward in the protection of Sicily's environment and agriculture, recalling that the primary sector is not just about food production but increasingly plays a role in protecting and safeguarding the environment and territory. The commission of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, in fact, gave a positive opinion to the registration in the 'National Register of Rural Landscapes of Historical Interest, Agricultural Practices and Traditional Knowledge' of a portion of more than 300 hectares in the area.
These are territories whose preservation is a testimony to the past, both from the point of view of protection and the agricultural practices in use. A landscape context that is unique in the world for its peculiar characteristic of resilience, intact for thousands of years. The material inscription will take place with a special ministerial decree.
"Proposing an integrated offer of the territory," says the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, "makes it possible to increase tourist attractiveness, with a multiplier effect. Adding a theme such as rural sustainability to an area now known mainly for its inestimable archaeological value, which is already a Unesco site, is an added value that can bring further positive economic benefits and increase visitor flows".
"The candidature of the Valley of the Temples for inclusion in the Register," adds the Regional Councillor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity Francesco Paolo Scarpinato, "is the result of the virtuous collaboration between the public, private and third sector realities, through a temporary association of purpose (ats) formed by the Archaeological Park, the Terra del Barone company and Fai - the Italian Environmental Fund. The recognition is confirmation of how subjects of different natures working with a community of intentions can achieve, together, objectives capable of contributing to the growth of the territory'.
