The human factor in natural and cultural landscapes: the Geomining Park of Sardinia.

In many landscapes the human imprint is very relevant and can determine its valorisation or deterioration. In most cases human interventions disqualify geological and natural landscapes, but in some they can enrich the already existent values and create new related sites of interest. Among the most explicative areas where human impact on natural and cultural landscapes of great geological interest has both been negative and positive, the Geomining Historical and Natural Park of Sardinia can be mentioned. The mining activities in Sardinia have manifested in a large number of ancient mines distributed all over the Island and characterised by different minerogenetic, economic, productive, scientific and cultural values, altogether essential for the comprehension of the extraordinary history of these industries. In the past 8,000 years, these industries have left indelible human traces in the landscape that enrich in an appreciable way the already extraordinary value of the geological, natural and cultural heritage. In these last decades, with the abandoning of these mining activities, the consciousness of these important values has grown rapidly, leading to the development of scientific and cultural initiatives in order to rehabilitate and valorise this heritage from a social, cultural and economic point of view. For all these reasons at Paris in June 1997 the General Assembly of UNESCO has sponsored vigorously the demand presented by the Sardinian Regional Government for the constitution of the Geomining Historical and Natural Park of Sardinia, becoming finally reality in the year 2001. The Authors will emphasise on the differences in cultural and natural landscapes of the eight areas of this important GeoPark.