DOLOMITES-UNESCO: A LONG TRADITION OF SELF GOVERNMENT
TRENTO - An ancient form of government still survives in the Dolomite valleys, a unique kind of direct democracy dating from the Middle Ages. Usually called Regole and whose members referred to as Regolieri, these community institutions are found in various Alpine areas but are particularly important in the Valle di Fiemme, the Ampezzo valley and the Cadore Valley, where they are called Magnificent Communities. The Magnifica Comunita' are a crucial part of the cultural heritage in the Dolomites, Italy's stunning Alpine range which has won a bid to be added to the United Nations World Heritage List. The World Heritage Committee, tasked with identifying and protecting cultural and natural heritage by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) gave the go-ahead to the application at a meeting in Seville on Friday.
Nine Dolomites mountain groups were selected as representative of two UNESCO criteria: offering superlative natural phenomena or natural beauty and aesthetic importance; and providing outstanding examples representing major stages of the earth's history. Much of the land in these areas, mostly forested, belong to the Regoliera, the heirs of the inhabitants from many centuries back that make up the Regola, juridical entities whose charters are derived for the ancient 'Laudo' statutes written in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These collective properties, handed down through generations, are indivisible and belong permanently to the Regoliera. The lands are primarily used for farming, livestock grazing and forest-related activities. The Regole decide on management practices regulating agricultural practices, grazing, use of the woods, and the maintenance of paths and roads.
Rights are reserved only for the descendents of the original residents of the town's Regola or Magnifica Comunita', not for those who move from another area. The Ampezzo Regola in the Cortina d'Ampezzo area manages a 16 thousand hectare forest, mostly fir trees. Each Regoliere has the right to a set amount of wood every year for heating and building, but for their private use only, not for commercial purposes. The House of Regole, the institution's headquarters, is in a beautiful old building in the centre of Cortina and plays an important role in civic life, especially given the high cost of property in the Ampezzo valley. La Magnifica Comunita' of Cadore is made up of 22 municipalities in the Cadore Valley. The community has large piece of land in the Cima Gogna district of the municipality of Auronzo di Cadore, the centre of its artisan and industrial activities. The Magnifica also owns woodland in the municipalities of Comelico Superiore and San Pietro di Cadore. Earning from the Magnifica's businesses are used for conservation programmes and cultural activities. The Magnifica Comunita' di Fiemme includes eleven municipalities in the Trentino Val di Fiemme, in the Val di Fassa, and in the Alto Adige area.
The oldest document referring to the Magnifica dates from 1111 and is kept in the Cavalese headquarters, a Renaissance building that also houses a painting gallery with works from the 1700s Fiemmese school of painting. The Magnifica still uses the terms set out in the ancient documents; towns are called Regole, the members of a Regola are called Regolani, the legal representative of the Magnifica is the Scario, residents are neighbours, nuclear families are hearths or fires and the head of the family is the head of the hearth or fire, the institutional organs are the Comun Generale, the Regola Council, and the Regolani Council.
The Magnifica Comunita' di Fiemme manages 20,000 hectares of forest and has developed a thriving commercial wood business in the last several years. Neighbours' various rights included grazing, hunting and fishing, quarrying sand and gravel, the use of woods, and harvesting forest and undergrowth products. The earnings derived from their lands are divided between all the neighbours based on the ancient system that favours the less well off.
Profits are also invested in cultural, social and economic initiatives for the community. In the 1950s the community built a hospital in Cavalese, which was later handed over to the public administration. Recent projects include building a rest home and financing studies and publications. In the past the Magnifica Comunita' di Fiemme also maintained the Avisio River's riverbed, used to float logs from higher elevations to the valley, as well as the areas roads. In 1850 the Regola build the first important road connection to the Valle dell'Adige, today the Dolomite state road 48.
