Andrea Pane: Il fiordo di Crapolla nel paesaggio della Penisola sorrentina

Andrea Pane: Il fiordo di Crapolla nel paesaggio della Penisola sorrentina

Andrea Pane: Il fiordo di Crapolla nel paesaggio della Penisola sorrentina

The paper focuses on the landscape of the fiord of Crapolla, considered an epitome for the whole landscape of the Amalfi coast in the Sorrento peninsula. The analysis follows a complex approach, updated with recent trends in landscape theory, and is based on a vision of landscape as “aesthetic identity of sites”, paying attention also to geographical, morphological and biological aspects. Special care concerns the historic themes, considering that Crapolla appears like an actual paragon of a “cultural landscape”. The research about historical uses of the site over the centuries starts from mythology (the Siren’s legends) and then goes through the literature of the XIX and XX century, where the anthropological aspects of Crapolla come out, showing the hard life of “seafarers living in the mountains”. In fact, Crapolla’s fishermen lived at 300m above the sea level, in the small hamlet of Torca. Particular attention is paid to the legal aspects and the planning regulations, and also to the rules of the Area Marina Protetta (maritime protected area) of the Sorrento peninsula that provides specific regulations for the Crapolla fiord. Finally the paper outlines some guidelines for the site’s preservation and improvement, particularly focusing on the maritime accessibility and the maintenance of the ancient paths coming from the mountains to the sea.