THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN THE PLAIN OF ASSISI, ITALY

This paper focuses on the role of institutions and farmers in maintaining the rural landscape in the plain of Assisi, Italy. These two different actors are deputed to play the main roles of agriculture: protection and production (Commissione Giannini, 1976). Institutions consider farming as the production of the rural landscape. They preserve and protect the landscape by considering that the entire municipal area (including its rural area) has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Conversely, farmers are more interested in the production aspect. In particular, the new generation of farmers believes that economic factors play the most important role. The increase in the average age of farmers, rises in the cost of materials, and changes in common agricultural policy have led many farmers to wonder whether or not to continue working.