Landscapes in Ruins. Palm-Tree Fields in Elche (South East Spain), UNESCO World Heritage

Abstract

The subject of this lecture may be looked at from different angles, so it can be given different titles. In fact, we will be looking at this subject from different perspectives: One perspective could be “We are going to talk about a Mediterranean landscape”. But from the European point of view we can also talk about “A European landscape”. But we must immediately add: “A South European landscape”, so in general different terms, even opposite to Northern European landscape. We can go further and say that the landscape we are going to talk about is one area characterized by plants, by agriculture or by rural areas, not by mountains or cities or big rivers and big natural phenomena. We can also add that this place is under threat, that it is not in use anymore, or that soon it will be more or less in ruins, better or worst conserved. We can later talk about this place as a ruin, as an agricultural ruin. So, keeping in mind the previous possibilities about the subject of my lecture, the tittle of it is finally going to be “Palm-tree plantations in Elche, South-East Spain, UNESCO World Heritage”.