SUGGESTIONS COMING FROM ICOMOS-FLA “PRINCIPLES TEXT CONCERNING RURAL LANDSCAPE AS HERITAGE” (2017)

The Venice Charter remains relevant today, offering a broad definition of "historic monument" that encompasses “single architectural work” as well as “urban and rural settings”, acknowledging “modest works” as potential heritage. It emphasizes the “cultural significance” attributed by “people”, including values such as “particular civilization”, “significant development or a historic event”. Although “art” and “aesthetic” values are mentioned, but they are not prevalent. Originally written in French and translated into many languages, the Venice Charter has been interpreted and applied differently according various cultures and types of heritage. The concept of "rural settings" and “site rural”, in English and French, demonstrates the recognition of rural areas as part of heritage. The Italian translation is "paesistico" involves both natural and cultural dimensions. After World War II, some European and Western countries saw a growing emphasis on natural, environmental and ecological approaches, leading to a division between "culture" and "nature”. This division has posed challenges in the protection and management of rural landscapes as cultural heritage. While the World Heritage Convention (WHC) introduced a division between "Cultural" and "Natural" “Sites” in 1972, the 1992 Guidelines introduced the concept of “Cultural Landscape”, maintaining the nature/culture dualism. In 2011, the ICOMOS-IFLA ISCCL began to define criteria for rural heritage, leading to the adoption of the "Principles Concerning Rural Landscape as Heritage" by ICOMOS in 2017. This text is inspired by the Venice Charter and other international documents (Nara 1994, European Landscape Convention 2000, Faro 2005…) offering also a contribution for various topics and problems related to heritage conservation, not only for rural areas. Future international doctrinal documents could benefit from the Principles' Text and from experiences of rural landscapes management worldwide. It's also important to consider the holistic approach of countries like Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy in Europe, which don't strictly divide nature and culture. The Principles' Text outlines the definition of "Rural Landscape" and "Rural Landscape as Heritage," emphasizing “ongoing” characteristics of rural places, the human involvement, tangible and intangible components and complexity of the landscape. Rural Landscape is heritage but at the same time a “resources”. Policies should be consider: knowledge, protection, enhancement, sustainable management, stakeholder involvement (farmers, citizens, private owners and companies, local administrations, etc), and the transmission of tangible and intangible values. In addition the contribution underscores the importance of having a long-term strategy: to overcome the false contradiction between conservation and innovation and to promote “dynamic conservation” and "appropriate" transformation of rural landscape. The contribution also underlines the role of stakeholder and the importance of traditional knowledges and practices in addressing current challenges such as sustainability and climate change, emphasizing the importance of knowledge transmission between generations.