Transhumance Cultural Landscape

2008 World Monuments Watch

Transhumance, the seasonal moving of sheep across vast swaths of grazing lands, has been an essential part of traditional Italian agricultural life since Roman times. This practice can be traced back to at least the third century B.C., and by the Middle Ages networks of shepherds' paths had been established all over the Molise region and in neighboring Abruzzo, Puglia, Campania, and Basilicata. By the fourteenth century, rest areas, fences, shelters, chapels, taverns, and inns had been erected all along these rural mountain paths—the infrastructure of the age-old practice. Alfonso I, King of Naples, established an office for the protection of the Royal Shepherds' Track in 1442, and subsequent laws protecting the entire network of shepherds' paths followed. Four of the best-preserved trails are in the Molise region, and along them the architectural heritage of this tradition remains, preserving evidence of a way of life that largely disappeared after World War II. These trails, protected by Italian law since 1976, are being nominated for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Abandonment, lack of maintenance, and insufficient local knowledge about the historical significance of the paths and related structures all contribute to their deterioration. Most of the architectural evidence of transhumance culture—sometimes whole villages, but mostly individual buildings, such as taverns or shelters—is in ruins. Without a comprehensive plan for its protection, this cultural landscape, which has had such a significant impact on Italian society and culture over millennia, will be lost.