Vineyards: Vitour accumulates best practices in landscaping

Landscape atlases to help preserve winegrowing landscapes?

Massima Carta, architect and town planner at the University of Florence’s LARIST Laboratory, gave a presentation on the work he has carried out on landscape and heritage atlases to a workgroup made up of representatives of the Cellule Terroirs d’Interloire, the INAO and Mission Val de Loire (Loir-et-Cher Chamber of Agriculture is also associated with the approach). 

A number of examples were considered: 

• at local level: atlases on land use
• at regional level: atlases on territorial identity through its heritage
• participative atlases created with the help of local inhabitants

The Loire Valley workgroup decided to meet together again to consider an experiment on a pilot site, which might consist of producing a landscape atlas transcribing town-planning dynamics in comparison with winegrowing areas. The continuing spread of urbanisation exerts major pressure on cultivated land, and is one of the major issues identified in the Loire Valley World Heritage site Management Plan. 

On the web

• Landscape atlas of Empolese Valdelsa (Florence region)

On this website

• Management Plan for the listed site
• World Heritage vineyards

MyVitour, a blog for the public at large

10 World Heritage European vineyards have committed themselves to the preservation and enhancement of winegrowing landscapes through the European Vitour Landscape project. The 10 theme-based seminars enabled identification of over 50 good landscape practices in terms of ecology (biodiversity, climate and rivers), development (planning and transport) and cultural heritage (architecture, vineyard tours and event organisation). 

The my.vitour.org blog provides an opportunity for one and all to acquaint themselves with the actions implemented in each vineyard and ascertain that we are doing our best to hand on this remarkable heritage to future generations. 

On the web

• my.vitour.org (access to 10 blogs)
• my.vitour.org/loire (Loire Valley blog)