ISSN 2414-8385 (Online) ISSN 2414-8377 (Print) European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies September-December 2018 Volume 3. Issue 4 150 The Landscape, Its Narrative Identity and Man's Well-Being Dr. Vereno Brugiatelli Abstract In this study I intend to put forward a reflection on the landscape and, in particular, on the relationships that man establishes with it. From the European Landscape Convention (Florence, 20.X.2000), which considers the landscape a socio-cultural product, I aim to analyze this concept in order to determine: 1. what the identity of a certain landscape consists of and what constitutes it; 2. the relationship between the identity of the landscape and the identity of its inhabitants; 3. the importance of the identity of the landscape when planning and implementing interventions to safeguard and enhance it; 4. the ethical and cultural bases influencing urban planners and architects when intervening in the landscape; 5. the importance of the landscape to man's well- being. Keywords: Landscape; Identity of the landscape; Narrative; Innovation; Well-being. 1. Introduction The European Landscape Convention (Florence, 20.X.2000) interprets, protects and enhances the landscape as a dynamic process of man's cultural relations with the environment and the territory; it states that the landscape is a social and cultural product. The Convention calls upon the citizens and institutions to identify suitable criteria, actions and objectives to promote the quality of the landscape. In order to achieve this, the citizens need to develop awareness, knowledge and responsibility with regard to the territory, environment and landscape. From these assumptions, in this study I aim to focus on: 1. what the identity of a certain landscape consists of and what constitutes it; 2. the relationship between the identity of the landscape and the identity of its inhabitants it; 3. the importance of the identity of the landscape when planning and implementing interventions to safeguard and enhance it; 4. the ethical and cultural bases influencing urban planners and architects when intervening in the landscape; 5. the importance of the landscape to man's well-being. 2. Territory, environment and landscape Territory, environment and landscape are distinct dimensions but, at the same time, they are closely linked. By “territory” we refer to the extension of the earth's surface with its morphological characteristics, which are often subject to man's intervention, and come to our knowledge through Geography. The term “environment” refers to all the biological conditions permitting the life of organisms including the presence of water, seasonal temperatures, altitude above sea-level, precipitation, latitude, longitude and the geological soil conformation etc. Furthermore, the term “environment” also has a historical-cultural meaning referring to the human dimension including agriculture, live-stock farming, industry, urban areas, cultural events, traces of past and present populations and artistic remains etc. The environment shapes and is inclusive of the territory, but the territory can do without the environment considered in both the biological and historical-cultural sense. The landscape, in turn, includes the territory and the environment to which man's involvement can be added, in other words, the interventions of value and cultural works. Therefore, the cultural landscape can be considered a visible expression of the culture of the different populations that have shaped it. The cultural landscape presents itself to the observer in the form of sentimental, intellectual and spiritual interventions, which are dynamically linked together in the narrative memory (past), which, in turn, form the basis for (future) projects and present actions. The cultural landscape exhibits the distinctive characteristics of the culture of its inhabitants. These distinctive traits confer upon the landscape its features and identity thus distinguishing it from other landscapes. Each intervention in the landscape should, therefore, take into consideration the different elements competing to endow it with its specific identity. At this point, it is necessary to clarify how the identity of a landscape is formed and of what it consists.