Landscape as heritage in museums: A critical appraisal of past and present experiences

During the closing decades of the twentieth century, landscape received full recognition in international heritage policies. This ‘heritagization’ of landscape is one expression of the ongoing transformation and widening of the idea of heritage, although the move from general statements of principle to their application raises many questions. The manifold challenges posed by this ‘heritagization’ of landscape are explored focusing on the specific issues raised by its inclusion in the sphere of the activity of museums, at the intersection between the perspectives of geography and museology. The steps through which – both in the geographical tradition and in museum studies – a rapprochement between museums and landscape has emerged are retraced in over a century. Then a critical review is offered of different museum experiences: open air museum, ecomuseum, landschaftsmuseums and museums of landscape as an idea. These experiences are generalised into different models and their respective potential in dealing with landscape is critically discussed.