Paesaggi rurali storici: il caso di studio dell’oliveto di s’Ortu Mannu (Villamassargia, CA)

The rural landscape takes on an increasing importance as an expression of the cultural heritage and it is a typical example of cultural landscape at global level (UNESCO World Heritage). Even the common agricultural policy for the period 2014-2020 has been reconfirmed, the importance of rural landscapes in Italy creating the National Observatory of the rural landscape, the farming practices and the traditional knowledge (D.M.MiPAAF n.17070/2012). The research is focused on the recognition, description and planning of historical rural landscapes of Sardinia as well as to the applicability of the VASA methodology (Historical Environmental Evaluation) that selects the candidate sites for the national register of rural historic landscapes, managed by the cited ministerial Observatory. This research acted in a rural area of the Sulcis (south-west of Sardinia, Italy), in the municipality of Villamassargia, where it is located a traditional great olive grove which have reference to the period of the pisani domination, made apparent by the castle that overlooks the olive plain (Castle of Gioiosa Guardia, built in the 13th century). S'Ortu Mannu has a particular form of management which divides the land by the trees’ ownership as each family of Villamassargia possesses one or more olive plants. It was conducted a diachronic analysis, as VASA methodology requires, developed using the 1954 and 1977 aerial photographs and the 2012 satellite images. The photo-interpretation generates a sequence of land use maps for each source of data, and an appropriate maps’ series of land use changes. The results confirm the persistence of the great olive grove, the presence of noteworthy singular plants, if anything of the nearby areas, where it is observed the reduction of the arable land and the mid-natural areas, and the growth of pasture areas