Talking Signs
THE UTOPIA ELEGANCE
Our mountains are a built environment, a repository of knowledge and labours, the result of a process of co-evolution between culture, creativity and nature. As far back as the 13th century, the Bergamì, the first dairy farmers, migrated according to the seasons between the plains and the mountains, following the path followed for millennia by the shepherds of sheep and goats, the first breeds to be raised.
The landscape of the Orobie was born from the need of the farmers to find land that would provide fodder for the entire year. By deforesting and transforming grassland into pasture, shepherds and bergamini have, over the centuries, developed a spontaneous design that has defined areas of value, respectfully modifying the particular morphology of these mountain areas and their valleys.
Territories rich in history that combine environmental excellence for high biodiversity with quality agricultural production resulting from ancient traditions. This discreet balance between human intervention and nature lends the places an added beauty. Seeking out their signs and interpreting them is an exercise that helps one understand their history, elegance and fragility: one can see peaks outlined by ancient alpine practices, fences of dry stone walls (barec) outline the ridges, while patches of pastel green suggest the active work of the pastures. The preservation of landscape cornerstones and local identities become the materialisation of a utopia: a sustainable vision of speaking signs.
