The “Giornate di studio sulla valorizzazione del paesaggio” (Study days on landscape enhancement), the in-depth programme promoted by the Regional Landscape Observatory in collaboration with Università Iuav di Venezia and the University of Verona, began on Thursday 24 September in Verona.

The initiative is structured into seven study days held across the seven provinces of Veneto, dedicated to understanding the landscapes of Veneto and to the protection of landscape assets within the framework of the Variant to the PTRC with landscape value, with particular attention to the operational and applicative aspects in different territorial contexts. The activities are aimed at professionals registered with professional bodies and technical registers, as well as public administration officials, with the aim of strengthening skills and awareness in the management of landscape assets and fostering greater integration between protection, enhancement and territorial planning.

The schedule will involve all the provinces of Veneto between September and December, with events in Verona, Belluno, Rovigo, Treviso, Vicenza, Padua and Venice, alternating days curated by the University of Verona and Università Iuav di Venezia. For Iuav, the meetings will be held in Belluno on 30 September, Treviso on 15 October, Padua on 26 November and Venice on 3 December.

The first day took place at the Loggia Fra Giocondo in Verona and was curated by the University of Verona.

Opening the proceedings, during the institutional greetings, was Filippo Magni, Iuav lecturer and scientific co-coordinator of the training and professional development activity within the Regional Landscape Observatory, who highlighted the value of continuous training as an essential tool for strengthening the skills of professionals and administrations and for maintaining a direct relationship between knowledge, planning tools and the specific features of local areas.

“Training aimed at professionals represents a fundamental step in ensuring that planning tools do not remain merely a regulatory framework, but become tools truly capable of reading and guiding the transformation of the territory. These study days are valuable precisely because they bring universities, administrations and professionals into relation with one another, strengthening the link between expertise, practice and knowledge of the different local contexts,” Filippo Magni pointed out.

The opening day introduced participants to the process of the Variant to the PTRC with landscape value, addressing its various technical, cultural, administrative and territorial dimensions. Speakers included Matteo Nicolini and Emanuela Bullado of the University of Verona, Salvina Sist and Andrea Bonato of the Regione del Veneto, Viviana Ferrario of Università Iuav di Venezia and Silvia Dandria of the SABAP Verona-Rovigo-Vicenza.

Viviana Ferrario, lecturer in Geography and scientific coordinator of the activity for Iuav, contributed to the day with an in-depth session dedicated to the Atlas of the Landscapes of Veneto and to landscape quality objectives, highlighting the role of territorial knowledge as a basis for guiding planning choices and future transformations. “Landscape cannot be read as a static reality, but as the result of relationships, permanences and transformations that require tools capable of recognising its complexity. Bringing knowledge, quality objectives and planning into relation with one another means building a common basis through which to guide the transformation of the territory more consciously,” Viviana Ferrario pointed out.