Recovery of the historic paths of Alicudi
From 26th to 30th of April 2019 the first part of the project “Recovery of the historic paths of Alicudi: rediscovering the natural heritage and terraced landscapes of Mediterranean small islands” took place. The project has been entirely funded by Aeolian Islands Preservation Fund and organized by the local association DottEolie in collaboration with Nesos. The projects received the patronage of the Municipality of Lipari and of the Global Alliance for Terraced Landscape (ITLA Italia).
The aim of the project is to give value to the landscape cultural heritage of Alicudi island by promoting actions to recover and maintain the historic paths crossing the terraces of the island.
The project is divided into two parts: the first, concluded on April 30th, included recovery and maintenance activities of 2 trails that are not included in the ordinary maintenance activities periodically carried out by the Municipality of Lipari. 3 young resident workers who know the territory have been involved in the operations: Dario Mangano, Piero Virgona, Valentino Capone.
In particular, the cleaning and recovery of the municipal path leading to the “Casa del Tramonto” was carried out, along which pieces of collapsed dry stone walls were also restored, making the path more usable and safe. The activities also concerned the reopening and recovery of an ancient path that had not been cleaned for many years, the “Costone Cirino” path that runs along a rocky ridge and connects the San Bartolo area to the town of the Mountain through a shorter way.
Both paths cross dense expanses of fascinating terraces, that were once cultivated, in which it is possible to admire the incredible work of our ancestors to shape the landscape, creating kilometers of dry stone walls that in some cases are still perfectly maintained.
Along the path that leads to the San Bartolo church, around Passo di Natoli, two pieces of collapsed dry-stone walls have been reconstructed, which for a long time hindered the passage in the path.
During the cleaning of the paths and the recovery of the collapsed dry-stone walls, some areas were also freed from different kind of accumulated waste.
The second part of the project will be finalized by the end of June 2019 and concerns the installation of signs to the cleaned paths and the installation of posters illustrating the flora and fauna typical of the local Mediterranean scrub.
The long-term objective is to carry out a series of activities aimed at recovering the landscape of our islands, which can actively involve the local community and raise awareness of the importance of preserving our historical and natural rural heritage.
