Iconic Sites for Alpine Geology and Geomorphology

Abstract

In the Alps — as with the rest of Europe — renewed interest in geoheritage sites has grown since the late nineteen-nineties. Inventory, conservation and promotional (didactic, tourist) projects for geosites have blossomed at every scale — local, national and international – articulated around the central concept of geodiversity. The present article will demonstrate that far from being an entirely new tendency, this constitutes rather a specific stage in a number of different threads of the history of landscape heritage, on-going since the nineteenth century. What is new, however, is the movement that consists in basing the selection of heritage sites on their intrinsic scientific value with regard to their pertinence to the history of the Earth, rather than for any merely picturesque or aesthetic qualities. This tendency towards the implementation of geoheritage contributes to the general drive for the sustainable development of alpine territories, particularly by means of the establishment of territorial development tools such as Geoparks.<br>Depuis la fin des années 1990, on assiste dans les Alpes, comme partout en Europe, à un nouvel intérêt pour les géopatrimoines. A toutes les échelles – locale, nationale, internationale – ont émergé des projets d’inventaire, de protection et de valorisation (didactique, touristique) des géosites autour du concept de géodiversité. Cet article montre que ces tendances ne sont pas nouvelles mais constituent plutôt une étape dans des trajectoires patrimoniales diverses, initiées dès le XIXe siècle. La nouveauté est une patrimonialisation basée sur la valeur scientifique intrinsèque des sites, en tant que témoins de l’histoire de la Terre, et non plus seulement pour leur valeur esthétique ou pittoresque. Ce mouvement de patrimonialisation participe de la volonté de développer durablement les territoires alpins, notamment à travers la mise en place d’outils de développements territorial tels que les géoparcs

Geoheritage, Geotourism and the Cultural Landscape: Enhancing the Visitor Experience and Promoting Geoconservation

“…The aesthetics of the sublime [122] and picturesque [123], respectively, inspired feelings of awe and admiration (Burke's "delightful terror") in the presence of geological "wonders", or contemplation of the compositional qualities of "natural" landscapes [124]. The representation of the physical landscape in travel journals, literature and art [14,117,[125][126][127][128][129][130][131] inspired writers, artists, poets and members of the wealthy classes and social elites in Britain and elsewhere in Europe to seek out and experience beautiful, sublime and picturesque scenery as part of a shift from the "classical" to a more "romantic" Grand Tour in the mid-17th to early 19th centuries and before the development of mass tourism in the mid-19th century [13,132,133]. This is well illustrated in the case of mountain aesthetics.…”

Urban Geomorphological Heritage. An Overview

“…landforms and landscapes (Reynard 2005a) that the society considers as part of the heritage of an area (Coratza, Hobléa 2017). Giving a value to landforms is part of a complex social process of "heritage making" (Reynard et al 2011, Coratza, Hobléa 2017 After the quality of geomorphosites has been recognized they need to be managed. The conservation of the geomorphological heritage implies the adoption of rules allowing their protection, both physical (e.g.…”

The importance of mountain geomorphosites for environmental education: examples from the Italian Dolomites and the Swiss Alps

“…Beniston 2003;Gruber et al 2012) and in this context the value of geoheritage in mountain areas has been re-discovered in various parts of the Alps (Reynard et al 2011) and other mountain ranges.…”