THE CULTURAL VALUE OF THE AMALFI COAST TERRACING. A LEGACY OF THE PAST AND OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FUTURE.

The Amalfi Coast is shaped by a colossal and widespread work of terraces that not only represent its backbone, defining the shapes of the landscape, but also determine some of the main aspects of local culture. This contribution retraces the historical relationship between the inhabitants of the Coast and the terraced landscape, in its harmonious evolution between traditional agricultural practices, art and culture. This relationship was maintained and preserved, despite a natural and slow evolution until the first half of the twentieth century, a period in which a fracture appeared, mainly due to economic aspects.
Remembering the stages of this process of construction and integration between nature and artifice can be useful in defining the protection strategies for the contemporary landscape, a protection that cannot ignore the permanence of the culture that the same landscape has generated.