In 2016, Italian production of wine exceeded 51 million hectolitres and among the twenty regions, the region with the most production by volume (millions of hectolitres) was the Veneto region, north-east of Italy, with almost 11 million. In particular, the success of Prosecco at the global level is the most important driving factor at both the economic and productivity levels. The worldwide success of Prosecco wine entails a remarkable change in both the local and regional configuration of agrarian landscapes. Traditional winegrowing swiftly changed into an intensive monoculture with remarkable investments and the spread of new viticulture entrepreneurships. The discussion proposed here intends to investigate the process of heritage construction or ‘heritagisation’, UNESCO candidacy, as an important issue for rural tourism promotion in the context of a productive winescape. We concentrated our analysis on the DOCG area, a complex space where several forces need to coexist; the productive drive of growing requests (global and local) of Prosecco, as well as rural representation based on local habits and a concrete hilly landscape. Rural tourism is clearly an important sector in terms of revenue and employment, especially for local communities, and it can help to ensure economic stability; however, doing so in a way that benefits the area and the landscape is not so straightforward. There are potential problems in facilitating increased urbanization, such as the standardization of landscape and damage to the area if plans are mismanaged. In the case of best practices, a desirable model of tourism can be tapped into while helping rural regions take advantage of more sustainable tourism development and landscape management.

Urban food policies require interdisciplinary research and action. Based on a holistic vision, these policies aim to facilitate the transformation of the food systems of cities in a sustainable, equitable and resilient manner. Food availability is key to urban food policies and involves recognition of the widespread disconnect between agriculture and consumers and the central role that food-related practices can play in the transition towards sustainable and resilient cities. This article addresses this topic by investigating the strategic role of one area of urban wetlands that has fostered new positive and shared attitudes towards watery heritage. The recovery of waterscapes in the Albufera, in close proximity to one of the most rapidly expanding Spanish urban areas, València, has allowed for a remarkable improvement of both traditional fisheries and paddy fields that has facilitated the regeneration of sustainable food practices. In 2019, the Horta de València, comprising a system of fields extending over a 28 km² area that is irrigated by the Túria River, was recognised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). The area includes the historic Huerta and a section of the Albufera National Park that still maintains elements of traditional Arab heritage. The Albufera is thereby a significant repository of watery memories related to fisher people, peasants and sailors that an increasing number of environmentalists and seaside tourists interact with, and it thereby exemplifies the nature of wetlands as knowledge resources that can inspire sustainable food practices and policies.

Dedicated to Federica Cavallo 1973-2023.

This lesson is dedicated to the long-lasting and effectual domestication of the hydrosphere in the Venice lagoon. A great attention will be paid to the historical processes that have allowed the formation of the Venetian urban materiality. Within the theoretical approach of ‘hydrophilia’, water mobility is among the most effectual agencies that allow the understanding of the peculiar social-cultural water heritage in Veneto plain.