Rural Landscapes as Living Archives: The Case of the Valley of the Temples between Ecological Conservation and Agri-Food Transition

Abstract

To feed an ever-growing population, the Anthropocene food system has relied on intensive agriculture, which over time has proven to be an unsustainable model as it has come to produce a third of greenhouse gas emissions and is the main driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss (UNEP 2024 report). It is urgent to orient food systems towards more sustainable models of use and consumption of resources. The study of traditional agricultural systems can support the search for a renewed balance between humanity and the environment. The article presents the study of a "pre-anthropocene" landscape preserved from agricultural and urban exploitation thanks to the presence of an archaeological constraint. This is the Archaeological Park of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, which extends over an area of about 1,300 hectares. A public-private partnership has experimented on the park's land with good practices of environmental recovery, ecological agriculture and livestock farming, eco-agriculture and restoration of ancient rural architecture. In collaboration with the university, a gene bank for the conservation of plant biodiversity has been established and the breeding of local endangered animal species has been reintroduced. The traditional agricultural landscape has been restored, supporting local biodiversity with sustainable biodynamic practices that can address climate change and increase resilience.