The conservation of the political, cultural and historical heritage of urban woodlands: Peralto Park (Genoa, Italy)

The focus of this paper is urban woodland found in Peralto Park, a public park on the outskirts of Genoa, NW Italy. From the late nineteenth century, the area was extensively afforested, and the city publicised this holding public events (“Feste degli Alberi”) when thousands of trees, especially local and exotic conifers were planted. In 1931 the Sacro Bosco Dalmatico (Sacred Dalmatian Wood) was established on Mount Peralto to commemorate 21 Dalmatian islands and cities that had been incorporated into Yugoslavia after the First World War. Following the Second World War the area was generally neglected and there was considerable natural regeneration of woodland. Currently, woodland improvement works are taking place with projects promoting tourism and outdoor activities in Peralto and its associated historical fortifications. The paper demonstrates the complexity of the relationship between landscape and governance and the need to conserve diverse historical meanings encoded within urban woodlands.