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THE ROLE OF THE SEASONAL SMALL FARMS IN DEFINING THE IDENTITY OF PIETROASA-S CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Alexandru Ciobotă

Abstract

The analysis of the productive landscape of Poieni and F?r??e?ti villages has been part of an extensive research of the cultural landscape of wooden orthodox churches in the ethnographic area of F?get, in Timi? County, Western part of Romania. The research was developed within the restoration project of the Saint Paraschieva church (1676), part of the national and universal heritage, located in Crivina de Sus village. This work aimed to answer the question ?what are the cultural assets of the Pietroasa commune, and its belonging villages (Pietroasa, Crivina de Sus, Poieni and F?r??e?ti)??. The study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team coordinated by several specialists with expertise in cultural studies and anthropology, architecture, landscape and cultural landscape, later joined by visual artists and photographers. The purpose of the research was to emphasize specific cultural landscape values of the villages, so that together with the remarkable architectural and heritage values that the wooden churches carry, to better define the commune?s identity. The methodologies used were specific to each area of expertise involved. For data collection and statistic information the Pietroasa Town Hall?s archives were consulted, an anthropology study was implemented using the semi-structured interview and non-participant observation methods, several landscape analysis and architectural surveying were carried out, sketches and photos were taken. The team focused mainly on the Poieni and F?r??e?ti?s administrative territory and its productive landscape, predominantly agricultural, even if this peculiarity can also be occasionally observed in Crivina de Sus and Pietroasa. A particularity regarding Poieni and F?r??e?ti villages is given by a small farms ?cluster?, scattered within their territory, locally called ?c?soanie?, an extent of the village, mostly used during summer. This paper highlights the importance of the seasonal small farms of Poieni and F?r??e?ti in defining the distinctive character of Pietroasa, with its agricultural practices, sustainable architecture and archaic construction techniques, several ways of association between farmers in specific agricultural activities, certain ways of grazing and milking sheep. The paper concludes by arguing that all these are just a few of the values that compose the identity of this specific cultural landscape.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2018/6.3/s27.093

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