Interpreting the cultural landscapes: Cases from Germany, Italy and Russia

The paper presents the results from a research project investigating the cultural landscape as a social construction and its perception in every-day life. It has a special focus on dynamics, actors, and cultural values around landscapes of Venice, Leipzig and Arkhangelsk. Particular attention is given to analysis of its meaning in ordinary life of citizens. Both the narrative and physical landscape patterns have been shaped by a local process of constant comparison with well-known symbols, including landmarks of regions. In particular, the paper illustrates how the landscape will be interpreted in the local dialogue of place, especially in the perceptions of its residents and tourists as reported in semi-structured interviews and participatory observations. As memory and place of belonging, a cultural landscape is not only what people see, but also a way of seeing, e.g. how people interpret it with their mind, using basic knowledge, previous experiences and senses. In this way, paper explores some of the associated ideas of landscape as a social construction in re ections to people of different cultural, natural and social background.