I paesaggi terrazzati della Campania, Italia

Terraced landscapes in Italy represent a resource of sustainable development and environmental protection. Terraced agrarian landscapes have multiple functions: ecological, social, cultural, economic. The abandonment of traditional agricultural activities and the fragmentation due to urban development threaten the conservation of these unique landscapes. A detailed mapping of terraced landscapes at national level has been undertaken with the Mapter project, with the aim of identifying terraced landscapes in the Italian peninsula. This paper offers an overview of historic terraced landscapes in the Campania region, Italy, identifying the structural factors in different territories. A frst mapping has been realized using the institutional geospatial databases of the Campania Region authority and the Corine Land Cover 2012, validated through comparison with satellite images. The maps have been realized in GIS environment. The results identify agrarian terraced landscapes in the provinces of Naples, Salerno and Caserta, including the islands of Ischia and Capri and sites of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) among which the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Amalf Coast and the terraced area of San Martino hill in the historic centre of Naples. Terraces are thus an important landscape and environmental resource in the Campania region. The Regional Landscape Plan, forthcoming, can represent a useful regulation tool for the safeguard and valorisation of terraced landscapes in Campania. Cultural landscape.