Preserving the Mediterranean landscape: The role of local traditional food

It is largely recognised that the Mediterranean and its landscape symbolises a cultural heritage for the world as a whole. It represents the place where different countries with different languages and cultures converge. Today all this culture and history seems clearly threatened by extensive desertification phenomena. This paper focuses on the role played by the gastronomic landscape and local traditional food into the process of Mediterranean cultural landscape making and conservation. By conceptualising local traditional food as a part of the entire cultural heritage of a place, the intend here has been to discuss how traditional knowledge, particularly traditional food and food processing, can both environmentally and culturally preserve the identity of a place. The rediscovering of typical agri-food products can guarantee the protection of landscape quality both from an aesthetic and an environmental point of view. It implies the reorganisation of productive systems through the adoption of traditional techniques. In fact, differently from the conventional products, the traditional ones belong to the historical memory of a territory and they have particular characteristics linked to geographical factors, quality of raw materials and processing techniques. This implies that there is a strict relationship between agri-food products and local community heritage and identity. The paper investigates the capacity of typical agri-food products to safeguard and sustain landscapes in a environmental fragile context. The approach leaded to a development of an empirical model validated through a case study located in Southern Italy (Costiera Amalfitana - Campania region), an outstanding example ofMediterranean landscape, with exceptional cultural and natural scenic values resulting from its peculiar topography and historical evolution and with a vital gastronomic heritage. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.