Landscape laboratory of the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage : actions and achievements for the implementation of the European Landscape Convention

Abstract

Andalusia is an Autonomous Community situated in the south of Spain with an area of 87,268 sq.km, divided into eight provinces. It has a regional government, the Junta de Andalucía, the responsibilities of which are split between thirteen Ministries, the Ministry of Culture being the one responsible for managing Andalusian cultural heritage. The Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage (IAPH) is a government-run entity belonging to the Ministry of Culture, authorised as a research institute, the purposes of which include the monitoring, research and innovation, documentation, communication and development of historical heritage. This Landscape Laboratory is the IAPH Department responsible for guiding the implementation of the European Landscape Convention in the plans, programmes and actions carried out by the Andalusian government in the area of historical heritage. It was created in the year 2000, thanks to a project of the European Culture 2000 programme, led by the IAPH, which established operating criteria for the landscape of large archaeological sites: Baelo Claudia (Spain), Cortona (Italy), Miróbriga (Portugal) and Thessalonica (Greece). Since then, the Laboratory has executed numerous multidisciplinary projects and actions, in collaboration with other national, international and regional institutions, which have progressed in the implementation of the specific measures of the European Landscape Convention associated with the promotion of awareness, training and education, identification and evaluation, landscape quality goals and implementation.