Il patrimonio industriale della Sardegna: il parco geominerario come strumento per lo sviluppo del territorio

During the 50’s the industrial and mining exploitation process of the Sardinia territory reached its peak, leading this region to the occupation of a strategic position and determining a mono - sectorial flourishing economy. However, once the exploitation c ycle was exhausted, this process left an inheritance difficult to handle. The social, economic and cultural transformations occurred changed the landscape, merging new values to it, and the ruins represent the minor problem: the subsequent economical crisis, the depopulation and the migration of young people are rather the main question. In the past the dismissed industrial sites were considered a source of environmental pollution, however at the end of the XIX century, they were revalued as historical heritage of cultural and touristic interest, which needed to be preserved. The institution of the Geominerary Historic and Environmental Park of Sardinia, acknowledge by Unesco in 2000, represents the first step towards the preservation of this heritage. However, in order to approach the issues related to local and regional development, it is necessary to discuss also about the loss of identity of this territory, the deterioration of the landscape and the decline its economy, as a consequence of the marginalization of this region in comparison to a global context. The contemporary approach on landscape and territory management refuses the opposition complete paralysis/ arbitrary manipulation. It is based on the assumption that it is necessary to recognize a nd valorize the identity of every landscape according to a unique and overall view, which regards both natural and economical aspects. This thesis, starting from a cognitive approach of the industrial heritage of Sardinia, through the analysis and comparison of high quality case studies, is aimed at defining the theoretical basis for a more complex strategy for the requalification of this heritage. In this sense, the territory is not intended as an homogeneous system, in which the mining operation i s simply replaced by the touristic exploitation. A new development strategy should emerge instead from the local specificities and from the valorization of the architectural and landscape resources of this territory, in order to include them into the production and urban processes of their context.