New Trends in Old Farm Buildings: Lomellina and its rural landscape

With the aim of preventing the disappearance of characteristic elements of the Italian rural landscape, the paper analyses the various alternatives for putting old farmhouses in to new productive uses connected to agriculture. The project focused on a 72000 hectare sample region, comprising the territories of 40 municipalities. The region was then divided into sub-regions for analysis, and a field survey performed to identify those buildings most heavily affected by changes, and subsequently to ascertain in detail the conditions of the farms occupying them. In order to identify alternative uses capable of sustaining the rural landscape, its building heritage and the farms themselves, the above data was then correlated with an analysis of the territorial aptitudes and the planning provisions currently in force. The results suggest some possible directions for achieving a sustainable reuse of old farm buildings, in a manner that is also able to revitalise the agricultural landscape and/or promote novel alternatives to the tourism-residential function envisaged by the redevelopment policies currently in force. The criteria defined can also provide support for the predominant forms of agriculture in the area, contributing to creating employment, and increasing the appeal of agriculture to younger generations.