Abstract

Landscape and food are two relevant items of the material culture of any human community. Their material aspect is revealing at least as much as their symbolic aspect. Food and landscape alike are the result of a human creative selection and manipulation of nature, taking place as economic processes and relationships. They are objective forms of historical and social memory and witness lifestyles, technologies, social stratification, kinship, authority and power, rites and beliefs. Therefore, they can be fully considered as cultural goods, and therefore, be dealt with by cultural economics. Recent EU and nationwide regulation recognize and protect foods that are particularly culture-laden. This protection increases their market price, and is focused on production. Protection is much more difficult for a complex object like landscape. Piecemeal minimal passive protection is practiced, now and then, with no clear ideas about its systemic governance, and the need for a different, planning-programming integrated active vision is strongly advocated.