Orto di casa

Ever since man became a farmer, the need to grow food, ornamental and aromatic plants next to the home has not yet disappeared. The initial limited agricultural surface subsequently expanded and diversified: cultivations occupied vast plots, in order to produce for the market, and the creation of the garden allowed him to satisfy his own aesthetic taste. Over time, therefore, agriculture has changed its appearance and dimension, while plant ornaments have underlined, with certainly no less importance, the architectural styles of the various eras. But the primitive element, original to all this, the vegetable garden, the ancient family pantry, has remained unchanged in every environment, culture and tradition. Most likely, it is the oldest sign that man has left and that even today continues to "trace" wherever there is a settlement, rural or urban. Almost a character of his genetic heritage, which continues to keep him tied to the earth and which reminds him of his primordial origins. This book analyzes the aspects relating to the Alpine territory, where the garden has maintained its characteristics almost unchanged since the dawn of time. A space that is also the only type of garden that, in this morphologically and climatically difficult environment, can be created by mixing ornamental plants with vegetables. The search for evidence, both historical and current, was oriented, in particular, to the Po and Varaita valleys, in the province of Cuneo, not only as they are the best known by the author, through life experiences and studies, but also because they constituted the largest part of the ancient Marquisate of Saluzzo. A small territory which, in its approximately five hundred years of history, between the 12th and 16th centuries, saw its events unfold in an essentially mountainous area. In it, various cultural aspects have merged, also with the neighboring transalpine environments, which are legible above all in the traditions, which remained alive until a few decades ago, and in the centuries-old anthropic elements of the landscape.