Forests, state, community, and fortifications

On Monday, March 10 at 5:30 PM in Turin, at the headquarters of the Centro Studi Piemontesi
via Ottavio Revel 15, there will be a presentation of the book Forests, state, community, and fortifications. Stories of territorial management, uses, abuses, and cleverness in the upper Chisone valley from the 17th to the 19th century, edited by the park ranger Bruno Usseglio.

The landscape of the upper Chisone valley is today interpreted as natural, meaning without human contamination. Is it really so, or is it made up of layered elements that have been added throughout different eras? Can we talk about a cultural landscape? Generations of local and state administrators, officials, and
users have contributed to forest management, shaping and determining the appearance of the territories. Historical documentation describes the forests as places of protection for villages from avalanches and landslides, resources to be used as fuel or building material, spaces for committing illicit acts and cleverness, a means to measure one’s power against that of other entities. Starting from forest management, one can thus investigate aspects of community life, the economy, center-periphery relations, and the presence of military architecture.

For information and reservations call 011/537486 - info@studipiemontesi.it
The conference can be followed later on the YouTube channel of the Centro Studi Piemontesi.