On the side of fire

This time the theme will focus on the word “fire”. At a time when fires, whose magnitude and intensity were unimaginable only a few years ago, rage throughout the world and appear to announce an impending Apocalypse, it is clear to us that, paradoxically, the most violent blazes are caused partly by the absence of controlled fires – whether their origin be natural or human – which landscapes had grown accustomed to, and by the resulting ecological disaster and the enormous amount of flammable material which has built up. By the same token, spectacular yet destructive volcanic eruptions are threatening more and more inhabited areas, bringing entire regions to their knees and putting people’s lives in danger.
Given the situation, where once again human behaviour has contributed not in small measure to the problem, we need to address the issue of fire when debating the future of the Earth, adopting a new approach based on the notion of living in harmony and not in conflict. Our lives would be inconceivable without fire, so we need to reconcile this coexistence with ideas for projects and initiatives to care for the landscape which take into account ecology, draw on past knowledge and revive traditional practices in an innovative way and have the courage to replace fossil fuels with other energy sources. We need to adopt a new approach and develop it by dialoguing with the world of natural and human sciences and the arts.

The international Landscape Study Days, divided into the four sessions Rites and Representations, Paradoxes, Under the Volcano, and Cultivations, were preceded on Friday 17 February by the online preview lecture Cultivated by Fire by Kate Cullity.