The Katuns – rural buildings as a perspective of seasonal mountain settlements in Montenegro.

Rural buildings play a central role on the environmental characteristics of the extra-urban land. They accompanied in the centuries the development of agricultural activities of the man who was so able to breed cattle, to grow and yield crops, and to store, transform and process agricultural products in a functional and efficient way, working into intensive conditions, so being unaffected by the external climate. On the other hand, construction built by the farmer-man marked the territory, influencing and steering the spontaneous development of nature, while leading to production that enabled humanity to get food. The Montenegrin katuns constitute a special example of rural buildings; used as seasonal settlements, they are organized in areas of mountain pastures for summer cattle grazing. Even if in most case they were abandoned during recent years - since people living there moved to more confortable residences within urban settlements - their contemporary potential for preserving traditional cattle-raising procedures and dairy products, rich cultural-historical heritage and perspectives of organized tourism activities, appears a very intriguing task to be approached. With the aim to valorise Montenegrin katuns, in the present paper a first approach was proposed, through the implementation of a Geographical Information System aimed to a survey about the current situation. This first step could pave the way for future possible planning of their restoration, within the general framework of a concerted approach aimed to their safeguard and the general sustainability of the areas where they are located, fighting the progressive abandonment of rural land. The exploitation of their unexpressed potential in the sector of tourism usage, together with cultural heritage, rich tradition and old infrastructure, would therefore reveal an efficient way for their valorisation. Articulating their place within the course of modern development of Montenegrin approaching the EU, would be a step towards enriching common European heritage with one of the most recognizable country's traditions. Agro-tourism offers indeed new opportunities for enjoying the agricultural land in close contact with naturally untouched landscapes. It enables to appreciate some traditional aspects that the new industrialized modern society may have forgotten. The opportunities that an agro-tourism farm may offer are so many and differentiated, going from the tour of the dairy farm, nature trail and flower gardens, farm animals, the traditional local genuine agro-food products, whose preparation can be personally observed, often coupled with the opportunity to taste and buy them, until the role of the farm as a location for educational farming. The agro-tourism in Montenegrin katuns may therefore encourage economic development through sustainable use of natural and cultural resources. Additionally, all the above mentioned opportunities could help in the development of environmentally friendly tourism, which is growing three times faster than those choosing mainstream trips.