Abstract

Observatories or observers: in Italian language – Osservatori / Osservatòri – an accent can modify points of view, methods and perception of the subjects observed. Thus, it happens that the once the observatory has been installed, experts do not always find a way to offer their contribution effectively, where the mandate received from the reference institutions is uncertain, not understood or badly managed. Otherwise, it happens that they can interpret their task well and positively infect their less motivated or more uncertain fellow observers and perhaps affect the launch of proposals and projects, analyzing, stimulating, proposing, planning, solutions. For some types of observers – certainly in UNESCO and Landscape Observatories, for example – this path can prove decisive. The Autor tries to summarize its distinctive features, referring some more detailed reflections and comments on the experiences of the Observatories about UNESCO and landscape Italian policies and their networks in the documentation section of this issue.