Image 1 of 1
Less

CIPG_20170531_NYT_CinqueTerre__M3_6719.jpg

Add to Lightbox Download

MANAROLA, ITALY - 31 MAY 2017: Anselmo Crovara (82), the creator and custodian of the Memory Archive housed in his own attic (a collection of items from traditional Ligurian daily life), looks at fragments of terracotta he collected in his Memory Archive here in Manarola, Italy, on May 31st 2017. Mr Crovara learned to build dry stone walls when he was a little boy.

Given its jagged coastline and manifold mountainous chains, Italy is believed to hold a record in Europe with an estimated 300,000 hectares of terracing, and 170,000 kilometers of dry stone walls— 20 times the length of the Great Wall of China.
Liguria, the narrow half-moon shaped region along the northern
Thyrrenian sea, has the highest concentration, and terracing is in
poor shape there. In Vernazza, almost half of the terracing is in
ruins.

Terraced vineyards, apple and lemon groves horizontally run around the green slopes of the Cinque Terre. The stone walls have allowed such vital cultivation in the area and prevented land slides. Since the 1960s, the ancient walls have been largely
abandoned, posing hydro-geological threats to the same villages during
heavy rains and, in general, as time passes.

Since the 2012 flood - when tons of mud invaded the
village’s main road, shops and and homes, isolating the area and
taking three lives - Margherita Ermirio has agreed with the various land lords to take
over 6,000 square meters of land parcels that needed to be cleaned up,
in order to fix them and thus prevent land slides, but also to show to
the younger generations that agriculture is still possible in the
Cinque Terre.

Copyright
©2017 Gianni Cipriano
Image Size
5760x3840 / 13.2MB
www.giannicipriano.com
Keywords
Contained in galleries
20170531_NYT_CinqueTerre
MANAROLA, ITALY - 31 MAY 2017: Anselmo Crovara (82), the creator and custodian of the Memory Archive housed in his own attic (a collection of items from traditional Ligurian daily life), looks at fragments of terracotta he collected in his Memory Archive here in Manarola, Italy, on May 31st 2017. Mr Crovara learned to build dry stone walls when he was a little boy.<br /> <br /> Given its jagged coastline and manifold mountainous chains, Italy is believed to hold a record in Europe with an estimated 300,000 hectares of terracing, and 170,000 kilometers of dry stone walls— 20 times the length of the Great Wall of China.<br /> Liguria, the narrow half-moon shaped region along the northern<br /> Thyrrenian sea, has the highest concentration, and terracing is in<br /> poor shape there. In Vernazza, almost half of the terracing is in<br /> ruins.<br /> <br /> Terraced vineyards, apple and lemon groves horizontally run around the green slopes of the Cinque Terre. The stone walls have allowed such vital cultivation in the area and prevented land slides. Since the 1960s, the ancient walls have been largely<br /> abandoned, posing hydro-geological threats to the same villages during<br /> heavy rains and, in general, as time passes.<br /> <br /> Since the 2012 flood - when tons of mud invaded the<br /> village’s main road, shops and and homes, isolating the area and<br /> taking three lives - Margherita Ermirio has agreed with the various land lords to take<br /> over 6,000 square meters of land parcels that needed to be cleaned up,<br /> in order to fix them and thus prevent land slides, but also to show to<br /> the younger generations that agriculture is still possible in the<br /> Cinque Terre.