Guidelines for the recognition of historic rural landscapes according to the Ministerial procedure. The case study of Mandrolisai (Sardinia)

Landscape is a highly dynamic process in which the protection of historic rural landscapes (H.R.L.) clashes with the need to innovate production processes. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MIPAAF now MASAF)establishedthe National Observatory and the National Register of H.R.L. in 2012,to protect the still “living” landscapes that have preserved on at least 50 percent of the territory the land uses prevailing in the immediate post-World War II period. The internal hills of Mandrolisai (NU, Italy) are home to two of the three H.R.L. present in Sardinia. Their significance is based on environmental (high elevation and thickening of vineyards on the outskirts of rural hamlets, e.g.) and agronomic characteristics, such as their small average area, the persistence of the traditional form of training (“alberello”, little tree or gobelet), and the use of native grape varieties. The diachronic analysis of aerial images showed the maintenance of active land uses in the post-World War II period (images from 1954 vs. 2016 or 2019) in 52.6 percent of the 2,363 hectares in the first certified area and 65.7 percent of the 417 hectares recognized in the second, respectively. The two areas, united by progressive depopulation, showed a reduction in “gobelet” vineyards, but these maintained their spatial location.