RECOGNIZED COUNTRIES

The element focuses on communities practice in the following geographic regions: the Alps (Northern Italy and Austria); Central and Southern Italy; Greece..

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, who met mid-December in Bogota, Colombia, inscribed transhumance on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The file, presented by Italy, Greece and Austria, is entitled “Transhumance, a seasonal movement of herds along migratory routes in the Mediterranean and the Alps”.

See the link here 

. transhumance is widespread all over the world and has been developed by various communities on all continents. This tradition is often found in alpine regions and marginalized areas and/or areas with ecological imbalances.

CANDIDATE COUNTRIES

AUSTRIA

In the Alps, transhumance is practiced by shepherds in Lombardy (Italy) and in the Ötztal Alps/Venost Alps (Central Alps massif). This is a traditional journey that starts in Italy in Val Senales/Schnalstal Valley and Val Passiria/Vallee Passiria/Passeier: animals are led over the Rombo/Timmelsjoch passes (2,494 m), Hochjoch (2,885 m), and Niederjoch (3,017 m) to the mountain pastures allocated to them in summer in Austria, in the Ötztal. Practiced for at least 4,000 years on all continents, transhumance is experiencing a gradual decline in the West. However, in order to preserve this ancestral practice, in June 2020, France registered transhumance as intangible cultural heritage.

GREECE

Transhumance in mainland Greece: there are herds of migrating goats and sheep everywhere. These herds are also found on large and medium-sized islands, mainly in Crete and Euboea, but also in Chios, Naxos, Thassos, etc. The breeding of migratory animals still remains a priority in the region of Thessaly, where the majority of bearers reside. Transhumance is also very active in central Greece and the Peloponnese.

ITALY

In Central and Southern Italy: transhumance is present in Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata and Sardinia. The element plays a key role, especially in the communities of Amatrice, whose historic center was destroyed during the recent earthquake of 2016, and Ceccano (Lazio); Aversa degli Abruzzi and Pescocostanzo (Abruzzo); Frosolone (Molise); San Marco in Lamis, San Giovanni Rotondo and Monte Sant'Angelo (Puglia); Rivello (Basilicata); Lacedonia and Zungoli (Campania).