I Campi Flegrei e le nuove possibili strategie di sviluppo

Between international pronouncements and new landscape definitions, there is an acquisition with extensive sharing both among scholars, specialists and in public opinion that the tangible and intangible heritage is always in precarious balance. The Phlegraean Fields area has always represented a paradigm of such fragility, with a wealth of extraordinary important episodes (archaeological, architectural, and environmental) representative of various historical periods and ecosystems that make it potentially one of the most interesting scenarios from environmental and cultural point of view. By contrast, over the centuries the attention and use of these resources has been uneven, if not counterproductive, dictated by strategic choices that deeply altered the perception of this area today. From Bagnoli and over Cape Miseno the coast line was only partially exploited for tourist purposes (bathing and yachting), preferring locate industrial plants also with high environmental impact right on the coastline. The thermal resources have seen only a few seasons of successful and systematic exploitation and currently represent a marginal resource. The agricultural and natural land have been reduced and have given way to most profitable use of soils, often resorting on illegal building practices. The numerous archaeological sites of exceptional importance have virtually never been included in a network of effective promotion, remaining still entrusted to an ‘amateur’ management and certainly not up to the potential of this resource. The widespread historical buildings is less important now, compared to the amount of new constructions of low architectural quality, paying the price for an unstable geological situation, pointing to the ‘new’ building as a solution safer than older settlements. Based on planning tools and local regulations it is possible to imagine new scenarios in which the protection return to the centre of national and international debate, emphasizing how cultural operations may have social and economic impact on an area of such importance.