Abstract

This brief essay attempts to reflect on the concept of landscape as a structured and all-encompassing reality, whose essence is intelligible in the interactions levels between the resistant natural component - i.e. the offer of the natural environment - and the acting cultural component - i.e. the intentional anthropic datum. Particularly, the aim of this writing is to recognize the 'established' relation between orographic conditions and settlement attitudes of the so-called special architecture. Mainly, some 'typical' conditions of Mongolian religious landscapes are analyzed, whose characters are determined according to the relation between the physical structure of the orographic support and settlement principles underlying Mongolian Buddhist monasteries. In fact, considering the current transformative scenarios concerning the landscape heritage of Mongolia, such a contribution of cognitive type intends to substantiate designing reflection - of conservative/ transformative character - concerning Mongolian religious landscapes.