I segni della cultura nel Parco del Ticino

The Ticino Valley Regional Park is situated in the very center of the “industrial triangle” that guided Italy through the post-World War II recovery; however, its landscape does not suffer the presence of manufacturing activities or commercial locations which are so typical of industrialized spaces. It has vast forests, rivers, channels, inhabited small and medium settlements with traditional urban planning, full of historic and artistic presence. Also, the long-distance communication infrastructures go through the Park without being very functional to its viability, which is more guaranteed by terrestrial and water systems, both only local. Therefore the Park appears like an “island”, strongly characterized by natural elements, buildings and historical artifacts, and also by non-material signs of culture, in the very center of one of Europe’s most industrialized and economically advanced regions: these facts make it a strong touristic attraction point whose quality of life is particularly elevated. It also contains archeological sites and historical localities that make the residents’ identity sense stronger. This process is proved by festivities, celebrations and holidays that are spent trying to connect to a past that however has to be separated from the present; an example of this are the Celtic festivities, despite the fact that they were introduced locally not before the ’80-s and ’90-s of the XX century. The Ticino Valley Regional Park shows a noticeable quantity of material and immaterial signs whose values are not limited to existential individual sphere, but are vastly shared by the community that inhabits it.