TY - JOUR
KW - Alpine anthropology
KW - Alps
KW - Ethnographic method
KW - Italy
KW - Piedmont [Italy]
KW - Sociodemographic changes
KW - Tangible and intangible resources
KW - Western Italian Alps
KW - anthropology
KW - cultural heritage
KW - demography
KW - ethnography
KW - Pastoralism
AU - Valentina Porcellana
AU - Giulia Fassio
AU - Pier Viazzo
AU - Roberta Zanini
AB - This article looks at the transmission of tangible and intangible resources from an anthropological perspective and presents two case-studies that provide both interesting commonalities and significant contrasts: the Occitan-speaking (and predominantly Waldensian) upper Pellice Valley, in the western Piedmontese Alps, and Macugnaga, a Walser settlement in the north-eastern Piedmontese Alps. Both localities host linguistic minorities and, demographically, have not suffered massive depopulation. Economically they differ since mountain pastoralism continues to be one of the pillars of economy and culture in the upper Pellice Valley, whereas Macugnaga has converted to tourism. We argue that the current focus on intangible heritage should not obscure the role of tangible assets-such as land, buildings and rights to private and collective resources-which are often essential to ensure that traditional craftsmanship is rescued and preserved. It should also not be taken for granted that the fate of intangible cultural heritage, when it possesses adequate potential, is invariably to turn into tangible, economic resources. Ethnographic research shows that this process may be hindered or mitigated as a results of negotiation between opposite views on the commoditization of cultural heritage. It also suggests that the very survival of a tradition may depend on its being “staged” to the benefit of, and shared with, tourists.
DO - 10.4000/rga.3338
M1 - 3
N1 - Publisher: Armand Colin
N2 - This article looks at the transmission of tangible and intangible resources from an anthropological perspective and presents two case-studies that provide both interesting commonalities and significant contrasts: the Occitan-speaking (and predominantly Waldensian) upper Pellice Valley, in the western Piedmontese Alps, and Macugnaga, a Walser settlement in the north-eastern Piedmontese Alps. Both localities host linguistic minorities and, demographically, have not suffered massive depopulation. Economically they differ since mountain pastoralism continues to be one of the pillars of economy and culture in the upper Pellice Valley, whereas Macugnaga has converted to tourism. We argue that the current focus on intangible heritage should not obscure the role of tangible assets-such as land, buildings and rights to private and collective resources-which are often essential to ensure that traditional craftsmanship is rescued and preserved. It should also not be taken for granted that the fate of intangible cultural heritage, when it possesses adequate potential, is invariably to turn into tangible, economic resources. Ethnographic research shows that this process may be hindered or mitigated as a results of negotiation between opposite views on the commoditization of cultural heritage. It also suggests that the very survival of a tradition may depend on its being “staged” to the benefit of, and shared with, tourists.
SP - 1
EP - 18
TI - Socio-Demographic Changes and Transmission of Tangible and Intangible Resources: Ethnographic Glimpses From the Western Italian Alps
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85008331046&doi=10.4000%2frga.3338&partnerID=40&md5=89e4d4c306029b17b2e0c0310b62abf6
VL - 104
SN - 00351121 (ISSN)
ER -