Il ruolo dell'olivo nel paesaggio agrario italiano del XXI secolo

The olive plant markedly characterizes the agricultural landscape of many Italian rural areas, par- ticularly in the southern regions. Since ancient times, the olive tree has been cultivated for its “multifunction- ality” which included tangible element (firewood, fruits, animal fodder, etc.) and intangible ones (components in any rituals of monotheistic religions, etc.). In the last decades, the economic crisis of primary sector has also markedly affected the olive sector. The conse- quences have been so marked as to generate non- negligible phenomenon of disappearance of olive farms (especially in more marginal areas) or the sub- stitution of olive cultivation with other more profitable crops. Nowadays in traditional olive-growing areas (Puglia, Calabria, Sicily, etc.) it exists the risk of jeop- ardizing the whole system of natural landscapes of rural regions. In the light of the new functions recog- nized to agriculture, government intervention plays a significant role in landscape protection, providing for the improvement and maintenance as the safeguard of age-old olive trees through new forms of support to olive growers in order to transfer a millenary heritage- landscape to future generations.