LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS Discover the landscape in rural areas of North and South , Saxony-Anhalt (Germany), Highlands and the Islands (Scotland)

G L garda valsabbia

REGIONE CALABRIA Assessorato Agricoltura DISTRETTO VIVAISTICO Fo reste e Fo restazione The landscape route of European rural areas links together the partners of the LANDsARE project

Italy LAG Oglio terre d’acqua (in cooperation with Province of Mantova, and Rural District Planta Regina) – Lead Partner www.galogliopo.it • [email protected] LAG Valle Camonica Val di Scalve (in cooperation with Mountain Community Caouncil of Valle Camonica and ) www.galvallecamonicavaldiscalve.it • [email protected] LAG Oltrepo Mantovano www.galoltrepomantovano.it • [email protected] LAG GardaValsabbia www.gal-gardavalsabbia.it • [email protected] LAG BaTiR www.batir.it • [email protected] Germany KULTURAL-Landschaft Haldensleben-Hundisburg e.V. (in cooperation with LAG Flechtinger Höhenzug) www.schloss-hundisburg.de • [email protected] Scotland West Highland College UHI (in cooperation with LAG Highland LEADER Local Action Group) www.whc.uhi.ac.uk • [email protected] LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS

FINLAND NORWAY SWEDEN ESTONIA

LATVIA IRELAND LITHUANIA UNITED KINGDOM NEDERLAND

BELGIUM POLOND GERMANY

CZECH REPUBLIC SLOVAKIA FRANCE AUSTRIA SWITZERLAND HUNGARY SLOVENIA CROATIA ROMANIA BOSNIA & HERZ SERBIA SPAIN ITALY

PORTUGAL MACEDONIA ALBANIA GREECE

A route linking nature, culture and taste in the beauty of landscape: create your own itinerary and visit 7 rural areas Basso Tirreno Reggino – BaTiR (South Italy)

LAG BaTir area is located in the south-western province of Reggio Calabria, on the Tyrrhenian Coast, involving 15 rural municipalities. The landscape is variegated, degrading from the internal mountains belonging to the “Aspromonte National Park” to the coastal hills and plains near the sea. Rocky cliffs are alternated by sandy beaches, while coastal and rural boroughs conserve people’s cultural heritage. Panoramic paths allow to appreciate unique landscapes such as the terraced vineyards of “Co- sta Viola”, the forests of Aspromonte mountains and the centenary olive trees of Gioia Tauro plain, witnesses of the interaction between men and the nature. Visit our landscape Mountain forests landscape Partly included in the area of “Aspromonte National Park”, the mountain forests landscape of LAG BaTiR is an important attraction for lovers of rural and naturalistic tourism, a perfect place to immerse oneself in peaceful and endless green landscapes, far away from the chaos of daily routines. The area offers the opportunity to go for leisurely walks beneath beech, silver fir and oaks trees, and to appreciate the colours and tastes of underwood produces, such as mushrooms, blackberries, wild straw- berries. Olive trees landscape It is located in the Tyrrhenian coastal plain of Gioia Tauro, an area of 30.000 hectares mainly covered by monumental olive trees, with some exemplars reaching heights of 25-30 meters. Most of the olive trees are centenary, testifying the great importance that agriculture has always had in this area. Here is possible to visit ancient rural boroughs and olive mills with a strong historical value. Costa Viola landscape It is located on the Tyrrhenian area and it runs for about 30 km, from Villa San Giovanni to Palmi; the coast is mainly high and rocky, but with coves, bays and small sandy beaches too. Many protected areas, such as SCIs and SPAs, characterise the area; but the strongest and representative elements that identity the character of the Violet Coast are the terraced vineyards, with dry stones walls called “armacìe”. Among the touristic towns near the sea, Scilla is renowned for its picturesque coastal borough called “Chianalea”, whom peculiarity is the presence of many little fishermen’s houses built on the rocks just near the sea, separated from each other by little alleyways that go straight down to sea and where often boats are docked.

Links www.galbatir.it

LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS Basso Tirreno Reggino – BaTiR Oglio Po (South Italy) (North Italy)

The Oglio Po area is bordered by the river Po (South) and the river Oglio (North), in the South East of . The territory counts 46 municipalities between the cities of Cremona and Mantova and it’s a strategic environmental heritage site and a potential environmental corridor between the foothills of the Alps and the Apennines. Visit our landscape The waterland – Parks and Reserves The two major waterways, the Oglio and the Po, as well as the many canals, are features of the count- ryside. The river Oglio flows through the South Oglio Regional Park within which there are many abandoned oxbows, “bodri” and meanders interspersed with beautiful farm landscapes. Of particular environmental prestige are the Torbiere di , Lanche di Runate, Gerre Gavazzi and Le Bine Nature Reserves. The countryside where the Oglio flows into the Po near San Matteo delle Chiaviche is particularly beautiful, as well as near the village of Acquanegra sul , not forgetting a number of places of special naturalistic interest. Forts and villas Along the roads that run between the Oglio and the Po there are castles and strategically placed settle- ments like in Canneto sull’Oglio (fort and castle), the city walls at and Rivarolo Mantovano, and the towers of Casalmaggiore and Commessaggio. The area is rich of amazing villas: the Villa Medici del Vascello (San Giovanni in Croce), the Villa Mina della Scala (Casteldidone), the Villa Fadigati (Martignana Po), the Villa Cavalcabò (Spineda), the Villa Ugolani Dati (Cella Dati) and all the aristocratic residence heritage of Rivarolo del Re. Historical towns and hamlet An essentially typical part of the countryside are the embankments, the quarries and a thick network of waterways made up of ship canals, irrigation ditches, canals, adducents and drainage and overflow ditches, a maze of fluid itineraries whose function is a crucial element in the man-made parts of the landscape. There are large groupings of farm-buildings to be found all over the territory as well as small towns of great historical interest. The farming tradition of the provinces, and the relatively limited urban expansion have enabled these groupings to stay the way they were originally with their architectural and environmental features intact.

Links www.ogliopo.it www.podilombardia.it

LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS Oltrepò Mantovano (North Italy)

Oltrepò Mantovano is a place of water and land, located in the middle of the low of alluvial origins. It is crossed by the Po river, the Big River, and by a very thick mesh formed by its tributaries (Mincio and Secchia Rivers), by ditches and irrigation canals which run through very fertile lands. Pa- noramic views over the Po River, beaches and oxbow lakes, holms and river islands, poplars limiting the banks of the river. From this place you can capture the true dimension of NATURE, the power of the Po River and the lands surrounding it. In the area of Oltrepò Mantovano, besides the important mona- stery buildings of San Benedetto Po, Matilda’s churches are equally important, they are the guardians of qualities of our territory and landscape: the countryside churches tracing fascinating paths among Reggio Emilia, Modena and Mantova, court’s orators and the capitals on the roads, country houses and rural courts, hunting residences for princes or work houses for farm labourers, rare castles, traces of the historic rivalries, draining plants, which add to the function of water government a precious evidence of the architectural taste of the early 20th century. Visit our landscape The three landscape itineraries can be organized in complete freedom or programmed contacting the local Tourist Information Office (IAT) that is capable of guaranteeing the direct contact with the people living in the area, making the difference between a visit and a knowledge tour! Itinerary 1. The Cycle-ways of the Oltrepò Mantovano: the rural landscape between towpaths and main embank- ments, country lanes and hidden paths, farmhouses and rural courts. Itinerary 2. The diffused Museum of the Oltrepò Mantovano: the landscape between culture and ancient identity: the monasteries and the churches, places of worship, profane and sacred, the museums and draining plants. Itinerary 3. Paths of the Parks of the Oltrepò Mantovano: the rural landscape among the protected natural envi- ronments of Oltrepò, the Park System of the Oltrepò Mantovano between regional and local parks to discover uncontaminated and protected flora and fauna.

Links www.oltrepomantovano.eu www.turismosanbenedettopo.it/ www.turismo.mantova.it/

LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS Garda Valsabbia (North Italy)

The Lake Garda is one of the most important lake in Europe. The Western coastal region, which is part of a Regional Park (Parco Alto Garda Bresciano), is characterized by two different landscapes of great natural value: the Riviera, with its typical climate and Mediterranean vegetation, and the inland mountain area, with peaks reaching up to two thousand meters in altitude. In a range of few kilometers, you can pass from lemon groves to forests of hornbeams, chestnuts and oaks; from bustling coastal towns, with tourists coming from all over the world, to tiny, quiet mountain villages, nestled in the Western Garda Forest (Foresta Gardesana Occidentale). The “v”-shaped Sabbia Valley runs parallel to the Western coast of Lake Garda. It is surrounded by forested mountains ranges with unique flora and fauna, mirroring the emerald green natural water basin of the Lake Idro. The villages in the upper Valley are home to important art treasures including painting and sculpture. Indeed, for centuries the Sabbia Valley has been known for its wood carving art. Visit our landscape Located at the foothills of the Alps, Lake Garda offers to visitors a splendid natural landscape. Favou- red by a Mediterranean climate, lemons grow in abundance (the Limonaia del Prà de la Fam grove is justly well-known), as well as oleander, bougainvillea and olive trees. Some villages lie on the coast road engraved around the banks of the lake. One of these is Campione del Garda, carved from the bare rock by local pioneers a century ago at the foot of the Tremosine grassland area. Thanks to the lake, the presence of both the Mediterranean climate along the lake shore and the alpine atmosphere of the immediate inland area, make possible the existence of an exceptional bio-diversity, both in terms of flora and fauna. Silvopastoral systems are traditional components of the alpine landscape, and pasture-woodlands repre- sent an important traditional form of seminatural landscape; they are ecosystems of high conservation value and serve as privileged habitats for threatened species because of their richness in vegetation types, embedded into a dynamic forest-grassland mosaic.

Links www.gal-gardavalsabbia.it www.gardalombardia.com www.visitgarda.eu www.lagodidro.it www.vallesabbia.info

LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS Valle Camonica Val di Scalve (North Italy)

Our area offers important resources from the environmental and naturalistic point of view and extra- ordinary cultural and historical heritage. Over 41% of the area is covered by the Adamello Park, with many protected areas, alpine lakes, uncontaminated valleys, winter sports facilities. The cultural offer is represented, first of all, by the areas identified under the UNESCO Sites by the denomination n. 94 “Primitive Art in Valle Camonica” – the richest worldwide heritage of primitive art -; the Roman and Medieval ages sites; historical hamlets; important religious architectural heritage (churches, monasteries, sanctuaries...), important industrial archeological sites related to metal and hydroelectric factories etc... Visit our landscape Vineyard area – The Wine Road An itinerary crossing the cultivation of vineyard, connecting together main wine cellars and their fields. This trail, now a path used by people working in the wine sector, will be soon an itinerary for food and wine tourism. Chestnut area – The Chestnut Road An itinerary crossing fields among chestnut cultivated areas, the most important of the Valcamonica area. This trail aims to restore a high number of chestnut trees, and it will soon become one of the most important touristic itinerary, of naturalistic and recreational interest. The High Valle Camonica areas and discricts – The Green Roads Itineraries linking together sustainable tourism development and the woodlands-energy process. Very special roads crossing particular environments, dedicated to the local wood processing. Thanks to these special paths, timber is sent to biomass energy centrals of Vallecamonica territory. All itineraries are easy to access both at physical and communicational level: every path is organized with coordinated signs, rest areas and information boards; paths are also promoted by dedicated guides, with maps with highlights on naturalistic, historical, cultural, agricultural and food peculiarities. Thanks to the important promotion system activated along the itineraries, the tourism offer is qualified, boosting Valle Camonica and Valle di Scalve’s attractiveness, giving more opportunity of development to all operators engaged in the sector.

Links www.galvallecamonicavaldiscalve.it www.turismovallecamonica.it

LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS Magdeburger Börde (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany)

The Magdeburger Börde borders with the Bebertal (e.g. valley of river Beber) on the woodlands of Flech- tinger mountain range. The attractive scenery of the valley is supported through a mosaic of fields, pastu- res, historical old woods, avenues, dry grasslands and the course of the river Beber, including numerous ponds accommodates and a multiplicity of cultural-historical places of interest. Impressive castles with large gardens and parks are located in Bebertal in following villages: Altenhausen, Erxleben, Bebertal and Hundisburg. In woods west of Haldensleben is the biggest megalithic grave filed of Central Europe. The Bebertal is an idyllic place for travellers and cyclists. Visit our landscape Forests with megalithic graves Megalith graves belong to the archaeological cultural monuments. Originally widespread, these prehistoric graves were destroyed in many areas by road construction and the new field construction methods of the 19th. century. Merely in woodlands they were well preserved. This circumstance has led to the fact, that the biggest megalith grave area of Central Europe is located in the woods to the south and to the west of the city of Haldensleben. 83 more or less well-preserved graves could be found within the so-called historical square mile. River valley with Elbe-Aller-bicycle path The Beber is an about 13 kilometre long river in Saxony-Anhalt. It rises close to Bregenstedt and flows through the villages of Emden, Bebertal, Hundisburg, Althaldensleben and Wedringen where ist re- aches the river Ohre. The various and picturesque man-made landscape in the Bebertal appears on the Aller-Elbe-cycle track of its best side. Historic gardens and parks of Hundisburg and Althaldensleben The historic gardens and parks of Hundisburg and Althaldensleben extend within the valley of the lo- wer Beber and are formed of the Hundisburg baroque garden and the landscape garden Althaldensleben- Hundisburg. Together, they are the third-biggest historical garden in Saxony-Anhalt with a surface of 100 ha. The gardens are connected with Hundisburg Castle and the monastry of Althaldensleben and show the variety of the garden art history of the 18th and 19th century.

Links www.schloss-hundisburg.de www.haldensleben.de/Start/Tourismus www.strasse-der-romanik.net www.gartentraeume-sachsen-anhalt.de www.elbe-boerde-heide.de www.lag-fh.de

LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS Highlands and the Islands (Scotland)

Iconic mountains rise steeply from a patchwork of rocky moorland, narrow glens and indented coastline with deep lochs reflecting the massive mountains. The coastal edge is highly varied, with an intricate mix of beaches, sea loch, islands, headlands, inlets, woodlands and crofting settlements of traditional charac- ter. Wildness is a key part of the experience of this landscape. Woodlands include surviving remnants of ancient temperate Atlantic oak forest. Settlement pattern is rich and varied with some larger coastal communities which grew up around the 19th century fishing industry. Landmark castles, ruined, isolated settlements, brochs and monastic remains are typical. There are also remains of early modern industrial activity such as copper mines or iron furnaces. Modern day development, limited in extent, is concentrated on the flatter margins around the coastal fringes. Visit our landscape Morven. A remote, mainland area of mountains rising from, and virtually surrounded by, the sea and elongated lochs. Glens shelter remnants of ancient temperate Atlantic oak forest. The few small settlements are strung out along the minor roads, generally hugging the coast. Ullapool and Wester Ross. Iconic mountains rise steeply from a patchwork of rocky moorland and indented coastline. The deep lochs reflect massive mountains such as Liathach, Beinn Eighe and An Teallach. The larger coastal settlements include Poolewe and Ullapool. The area is rich in early Christian ecclesiastical remains. Skye. An island of dramatic mountains and hills with the iconic Cuillin mountains to the south. The coastline is extensive and diverse: beaches, peninsulas and bays are interspersed with crofting townships and small woodlands or open moorland with Portree the principal town. Prehistoric remains include many brochs and forts.

Links for tourism information www.visitscotland.com www.snh.gov.uk/about-scotlands-nature/scotlands-landscapes/landscapes-varieties/ www.snh.gov.uk/ www.communitywoods.org/ http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/ www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/news-media/scotland/Pages/Scotland.aspx#.Ueeq-qwpgkN www.forestry.gov.uk/website/fchomepages.nsf/hp/seee www.whc.uhi.ac.uk/about-us/local-area text adapted from: www.snh.gov.uk/about-scotlands-nature/scotlands-landscapes/landscapes-varieties/

LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN Highlands and the Islands RURAL AREAS (Scotland)

Landscape route of European rural areas is an initiatives derived by a cooperation transnational project named LANDsARE (Landscape architectures in European rural areas: a new approach to the local deve- lopment design).

The project is part financed by the Leader 2007-2013 under the Tran- snational and inter-territorial cooperation.

“Transnational cooperation is more than just networking. It encourages and supports a Local Action Group to undertake a joint action with another LEADER group, or with a group taking a similar approach, in another region, Member State, or even a third country. The general objective of TNC is to help rural actors to improve the potential of their local areas.”

(http://enrd.ec.europa.eu/leader/leader/en/transnational-cooperation_en.cfm - last access on 07 March 2014) More info on LANDsARE project

LAG Oglio Po terre d’acqua piazza donatore del sangue, 17 • (CR) - Italy tel. +39037597664 • fax +39037597660 web www.galogliopo.it • mail [email protected]

LANDsARE THE LANDSCAPE ROUTE OF EUROPEAN RURAL AREAS