Paesaggi inguardabili : verso una ridefinizione di patrimonio acustico tra identità e comunità

In order to define Landscape and Heritage from a wider sonic perspective, we must distance ourself from the “sight leadership” which has established in the modern western culture. To this end we have to notice that the Intangible Cultural Heritage defined by UNESCO “includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants” but it does not take into account an often inconscious, although strong and intangible element dealing with identity such as Soundscape. Thus, we need to substantially reframe the concept of heritage and the ways it is perceived, and compare it with the knowledge produced and controlled by planning and policy design.
This paper aims to mention and understand in which way particoular soundscapes contribute to shape a cultural heritage as much as an aural tradition does. Furthermore we argue that sonic awareness is the first step for such a process; through that an “informed” community may choose which specific sonic cues to safeguard and may disclose which everyday practice lies behind a specific sonic environment.
Taking care of a Soundscape has also to do with the redefinition of the noise pollution policies, working not only on a quantitative scale, besides a qualitative one. The aim is to pinpoint and collect the "acoustic footprints" which give unicity to a certain context and which have to be identified and transmitted. Beyond noise pollution regulation, we belive that planning is the field where a new definition of Heritage and Landscape can take place, fostered by art practices and Sonic Studies.