Letture del paesaggio per la pianificazione.

Landscape is territory, but a number of landscapes make up the territory and all of them are cultural landscapes. They are based on common denominators such as time, the modes of economic production and the relationship between social classes. The differences between landscapes reflect the time (long, short) of their formation and transformation. One particular aspect are designed landscapes, like gardens and formal and informal parks, in which the aesthetic component is a fundamental element of the project, in addition to being an accurate expression of certain social classes or ruling powers in a determined period. In most cases, however, the aesthetic component is recognized only afterwards, and only in some -- such as the Alps in Romanticism, or the Tuscany landscape today -- further demonstrating that aesthetics are only one aspect of reading and understanding landscapes. Underlying the concept of landscape is a vision from afar and a body of elements, where items gain singular significance in a context, can be distinguished but are not isolated from the whole. On clear days, buildings emerge from townscape, just as from the plains peaks from nearby mountains are visible or navigators use landmarks allowing them to recognize the coastline. Technology gives us another way to see the landscape: from space, thanks to a multitude of sensors that enrich the view, provided the observer has the knowledge to understand and interpret what he sees.