I percorsi della Via Lauretana: tra memoria dei luoghi antichi e ricostruzione dei mosaici ecopaesaggistici delle marche

The Via Lauretana in the Italian region of Tuscany is an old pilgrim’s way aiming toward the sanctuary of Loreto, from which a project to link this historical route with the values of the surrounding landscape and its environmental heritage is currently underway. The Via Lauretana consists of a number of different sectors that relate to different cultural landscapes in this region, so rich in history. The Via is linked to a large number of protected natural areas, including Monte Sibilini National Park, Veio, Nera, Colfiorito and Conero regional parks, Abadia de Fiastra Natural Reserve, two Ramsar zones and a large number of areas included in the Nature 2000 network.

The transformation that the region is currently undergoing may undermine the delicate environmental equilibrium of the area that has thus far lasted for centuries. One of the most outstanding sites is the sanctuary of Loreto, where history, religion, culture and nature combine in a representation of the universal significance of pilgrimages to sacred sites. As well, the sacredness of the Via is perceptible throughout the region, in its churches, monasteries, fields and houses, which are all perfectly integrated into the landscape.

This document shows the importance of restoring the composition of the landscape and environment in light of mistaken territorial planning policies that may well increase the pace of the current fragmentation and deterioration of the landscape. This project aims to encourage the administrators of the territory and the Sanctuary to support the idea of environmental and landscape reconstruction in these sites of pilgrimage. The idea of pilgrimage as a reflection on the sacred sites integrated into the workings of the landscape must be redefined at the same time as a new ecological culture and the understanding of environmental problems as a response to the challenges that current landscape transformations are posing must be promoted.