Outstanding places 2009

third edition

The nominations for the third edition of Outstanding Places were accepted until Monday, 4 May 2009.

Through a call for entries published last December, the Foundation made a request to citizens, students, teachers, scholars, professionals, public entities and authorities to identify places in our province where the heritage condition of nature, memory and inventiveness is such that it contributes to elevating the culture and quality and zest for life of the people and communities living in them, was met with a very significant response for the third time. This is why we wish to publicly express our heartfelt thanks to all respondents for their participation and invaluable contribution to the initiative.

156 nominations were received, pertaining to 57 municipalities, some of which are new entries, so that 86 out of 95 municipalities in the Treviso province now have at least one outstanding site. In very few cases the nominations concerned places that had already been nominated in the first two editions of the competition, while a rather significant number of strongly committed participants have taken part in two or even three editions, with new and extremely diverse contributions each time. Once again the great generosity and variety of the submissions is amazing, and what is especially striking about this third edition is the massive participation of schools, taking on an leading role, with more than one third of nominations pertaining to education-related experiences of students, teachers and parents, from kindergarten to secondary schools.

All submitted documentation was sorted, analysed and integrated as needed, according to the methods adopted for the materials of the first two editions. This allows us to update the reflections that were put forward at the Landscape Study Days Outstanding Places. Site values which took place last February, resuming the in-depth analysis on the topic of possible place/people intersections and, specifically, the “demand for place” and, conversely, the “loss of place”, themes that we believe increasingly touch people from all walks of life and all cultural backgrounds.

 

The first step in analysing the results of the third edition was the public meeting with respondents, which took place on Wednesday, 17 June and was an opportunity for preliminary information and to exchange ideas on the submitted nominations and, more in general, on the meaning of the competition.

As anticipated by the call for entries, the materials were then displayed to broaden participation and reflection of all citizens on the value of the reported sites and pertaining issues, as was the case with the previous two exhibitions, which were visited by more than five thousand people.

 

Lastly, we are pleased to report that contacts are underway for “exporting” the Outstanding Places initiative to the Junta de Andalucía en Granada (equivalent to our provincial administration) and city of Madrid.  This was possible thanks to the commitment, respectively, of José Tito Rojo (member of the Foundation’s scientific committee) and of Carmen Añón (member of the Carlo Scarpa Prize jury).