Between forests and fields. Abandonment and environmental change in the Italian Alps.

Associate Partner: Vallarsa Ethnographic Museum

This second case study centers on the Leno Valleys (Valli del Leno), encompassing the municipalities of Vallarsa, Terragnolo and Trambileno in Italy’s Trentino Province. The two valleys span approximately 168 square kilometers and are inhabited by around 3,500 residents who primarily live in villages situated along the lower slopes, at elevations between 600–800 meters. Shaped by the Leno River, the valleys reflect centuries of agricultural development, characterized by terraced fields extending down to the river's edge, while larch and pine forests rise to higher pastures starting at around 1,000 meters.

Historically, the Leno Valleys were documented in records following their settlement during the 12th and 13th centuries by migrants predominantly from Bavaria and Tyrol. Their agricultural practices led to the establishment of mono-familiar settlements, which evolved into the current village structure. More recently, the area undergone significant ecological and social changes following the First World War, a critical turning point. The war resulted in extensive damage to the soil and infrastructure, triggering a decline in the local population and a subsequent shift away from traditional agricultural practices.

Currently, the valleys have become a refuge for various non-human species, such as red deer, chamois, and wolves, which have thrived in the absence of intensive land use. These changes in land use patterns have prompted interest in reintroduction and conservation programs, initiatives that have led to tensions at the local level.

This project builds on Alessandro’s previous research in the area, and aims to explore how abandonment and rewilding become contested sites of political confrontation, and why. In doing so, Alessandro will collaborate with a local Associate Partners: the Vallarsa Ethnographic Museum, a small institution holding an archive of historical documents that has thus far received little scholarly attention and organizing volunteer-run public events related to the valley’s past.

Relevant literature:

Rippa, A. 2024. “Where tourism fails: the (un)making of a post-working landscape in the Italian Alps.” Landscape Research 49(7): 934-945. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2024.2309310.

Rippa, A. 2021. “Hunting, Rewilding, and Multispecies Entanglements in the Alps.” Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology, DOI: 10.1080/00141844.2021.1939398.