Managing the Historical Agricultural Landscape in the Sicilian Anthropocene Context. The Landscape of the Valley of the Temples as a Time Capsule

Abstract

The debate over whether we are entering the Anthropocene Epoch focuses on the unequal consumption of the Earth system’s resources at the expense of nature’s regenerative abilities. To find a new point of balance with nature, it is useful to look back in time to understand how the so-called “Great Acceleration”—the surge in the consumption of the planet’s resources—hastened the arrival of the Anthropocene. Some particular places—for various reasons—survived the Great Acceleration and, as time capsules, have preserved more or less intact some landscape features that have disappeared elsewhere. How can we enhance these living archives that have come down to us? Through the analysis of the case study of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento (Sicily, Italy), the article presents several initiatives that have tried to answer this question. For example, the pre-Anthropocene landscape of the Valley of the Temples has preserved rare specimens of some plant species from which living gene banks have been built for the propagation of species, such as the Living Museum of the Almond Tree. In addition, the Kolymbethra, an ancient example of a Mediterranean garden, has been brought back to life revealing finds related to Greek and Arab cultivation and irrigation systems. The research perspectives opened by the “disappeared landscapes” show that the knowledge of the historical landscape, in particular the mechanisms behind its resilience, is indispensable for countering the unsustainable voracity of the Anthropocene and rediscover a renewed synergy between humankind and nature.

Circular economy and agritourism: a sustainable behavioral model for tourists and farmers in the post-COVID era

“…After the Romans, the Byzantines arrived on the island for a short time, and then the Arabs with whom lemon, bitter orange, and the Zibibbo vine were introduced from the Far East as well as great innovations in techniques and irrigation works. Arab domination was followed by that of the Normans who introduced on the island the model of the organization of the feudal societies of Northern Europe while ensuring the peaceful coexistence between populations of different origins and cultures thus producing positive effects on the evolution of architecture, of culture, science, and economics (Renda, 2003;Bacarella, 2021). Later, in Sicily, came the Angevins and began the economic and social decline of the island that continued with the Aragonese, the Spanish, and the Savoy government until we arrived today (Hamel, 2011).…”

“…There is, therefore, a very differentiated agriculture because of the various territorial characteristics and the great biodiversity of the island in terms of plant varieties and animal breeds that determine a typical production difficult to find in other regions or countries. In Sicily, agricultural activity changes its organization to meet the needs of modern consumers and the market in relation to the opportunities provided by regional, national, and community agricultural policy regarding health aspects, the enhancement of the typicality, the multifunctionality of agriculture, and the protection and enhancement of the territory (Bacarella, 2021). On the island, there are three macrocategories of agriculture, industrialized agriculture, quality and typical agriculture, and sustainable agriculture, which are spaces in different environments and different areas of the Sicilian territory.…”

Historical Ecology, Archaeology and Biocultural Landscapes: Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to the Long Anthropocene

“…The Great Acceleration of the Anthropocene and the challenges posed by transformations taking place in those landscapes defined "reserves of history" is at the center of the article by Badami [8] on the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento (Sicily, Italy) discussing the various good practices in land management that have enhanced this landscape as a natural and cultural ecosystem.…”