Project : recovering and turning to account of the territory within Cinque Terre National Park Cinque Terre.
How are nowadays the terraces of Cinque Terre?
The diagnosis is not positive, but there’s the possibility of recovery. Of course we need a pervasive and expensive therapy, but there are serious possibilities of a favorable development .
The mock-up field in Volastra will have so this purpose too: showing that you can recover this extraordinary agriculture landscape nowadays world heritage.
The recovery will start from a flash-back, then we’ll pass to analyze the nowadays situation followed by a look at the future which we believe possible. For this project we tried to involve voluntary experts in the most different subjects (agronomists, botanists, experts in landscape subjects etc). So the project is open to any suggestions of who wants to take apart.
We chose that position in the area Costa da Posa 150m about. From the Church of Volastra, easy to reach walking along the path N.6d which leads to Corniglia.
The project comes from the collaboration of 2 local agriculture enterprises (Prima Terra and Luciano Capellini) with our agency Arbaspàa. We recover not only the terraces but with this intervention we want to give an useful help to reveal and understand the agriculture history of Cinque Terre. In this site is possible to observe the different methodologies of vine growing during the centuries and the tools necessary to work in the fields. Multi-languages boards will lead the visitor along the fascinating itinerary we propose. A part of the field will be destined to have a rest and to explain the project.
Project of recovery : COSTA DA POSA
1° intervention: demonstrative field
- The individuated area is 980 m2 about. In some zones we still perceive vines in some other bramble and heather but some plants start to appear too.
- Many walls fell down on the seaside part dominating the path to Zona Sottoporciana. (about 26 m3).
- We have to restore the lateral flight which preview the access to the lower field.
Proposal of recovery:
- In the first field, the largest one, we’ll plant about 60 vines bulbs in five rows. We think about planting 5 different native varieties.
- In the first field , the widest starting from the ground, we preview an implantation with vines cultivated at the “greek” way, 40 cm. about from the ground supported by reeds . With tree and round top down for a total of 160 natives plants.
- The second terrace will host 3 or 4 rows of natives vines so as in the third and big terrace.
- We’ll test the possibility of cultivating about fifty plants falling on the last wall dominating the lane to Sottoporciana.
Wished result:
- The objective is to show to the visitor the different methods of cultivation which followed probably in Cinque Terre.
o The first, falling or spontaneous. May be also dating back from the Paleolitic the Ligurian tribes who first inhabited this coast cultivated vine, probably they did it introducing only a sprig between the rocks and the few ground. The special climate allow the plants to root and to have a rich harvest. We don’t know if the grape was used also to make wine or only as a feed- o The Etruscan used to support the vine climbing plant the shrubs growing near it
- o In following phases, (from the roman age, although we don’ t have certain news) and however starting from the 9th century, we passed from this system to build small walls and “cian” (fields) adopting a system of cultivation few cm from the ground. “e vigne basse” which was used especially until the end of the 19th century. (to be noticed that building small walls and extraordinary landscape lasted some centuries and at least for the first decades we think that they kept on collecting and cultivating wild grape cultivated on the rock and on precipices).
- Starting from the 19th century they adopted “l’autedu” which means round top down (we have already spoken about it) and nowadays they are using row system , trying, where is possible, to introduce system of mechanization respecting the environment and the landscape, as the gauge-line or the moto-wheelbarrow.
o The final objective we propose is to realise an installation looking at the future, which consider the climatic aspect, the sun exposition which is one of most important factor for the vine which as every vegetal organism receive his own energy from the light across the photosynthesis, but we’ll need to protect the fruits from the too violent rays allowing at the same time a good air circulation, which is the first obstacle against the fungus formation which cause especially iodio, but also protecting too violent wind which are frequent in this area. There are then different vines’ characteristics conditioning the choice of the implantation with the ground which has to host vines available for all the necessities to get working the vineyard easier .- These systems of cultivation, which followed during the centuries, will be easy to be seen from the visitor and concentrated in an area of about 1.000 m2. Not only the field but also the two planes next, already cultivated by the enterprise of Luciano Capellini, who will get them available and the possibility to recover 4/5 nice planes, show the beauty and the complexity of the agricultural architecture. Fill-full of cisterns to collect water and walls that repair from the wind. These planes were recently abandoned and from a quick look they don’t need intervention of heavy and expensive recovery.
1st Intervention
A) Rooting-up: destroying infesting plants (brambles, heather small trees) according to Direzione Lavori on the terraced areas included the rooting-up of the old vineyard destroying the stumps, included the harvest and the net transport on the area cultivated with vines, burning and taking away waste material included .
Total area : 980m2
B) Formation of passages between the terraces eventually dismantling the dividing walls and some small parts of stone-walls for a maximum width of cm. 100, and on maximum height of the terrace’s wall of 1,5 m. Ramp’s formation and building again the dry-stones-walls to contain the ramp.
C) Building the dry stone-walls in straight or curved elevation quarry’s stone, (included the provision and the transport on moto-wheelbarrow or on the back of the 50% of the stones) and the recovery making a selection of the remaining part in loco, included the formation of drainage back the wall, included demolitions, digging, all that is necessary to give the perfectly finished work. The restored lateral flight included.
Total volume 26m3
D) Working the ground (ploughing, leveling …) to prepare the specialized vine implantation, made with a small mechanic way (moto-hoe, pulley with plough ..) included the burden to transport the tool in loco and to move the machine between the terraces.
E) Vine Implantation specialized comprehensive of poles, vine bulbs , net and work.
Guided tours for groups up to 20 people are organized. For any information please contact us at info@italiafantastica.com . Income will be reinvest in recovering the dry stone-walls, care of the boards and photographic materials, maintenance of the vineyard.