Anna Girardi with her dissertation “Paés – Exploring the landscapes of Cortina d’Ampezzo” and Aron De Cesero with the dissertation “Woodland architecture: wild artefacts in the Cajada Forest” are the winners of the third edition of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site Outstanding Dissertation prize. There was also a special mention for Giulio Massaro, with his dissertation “Feasibility study for the establishment of a protected area to safeguard and promote the Dolomiti Pesarine area in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto: proposal for a natural park”.
THE CEREMONY
On 20 November, in the Sala Wolf room of the autonomous Province of Trento, the prize was presented in the presence of authorities and representatives of the organising bodies. It was first established by the Autonomous Province of Trento as part of the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation Training and Scientific Research Network coordination activities through the TSM-STEP School for Regional and Landscape Management. The prize, now in its third edition, aims to recognise analysis, study and research on the Dolomites World Heritage Site, promoting participation and active citizenship among the younger generations.
THE DECISION
The criteria set were amply met by the work of the students selected for the prize: Anna Girardi presented her dissertation at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, completing the three-year degree course in Design and Arts – Design Curriculum (Supervisor Mauro Vicenzo Bubbico; Assistant Supervisor Elisabetta Rattalino). In the notes accompanying their decision, the jury highlighted that “the multidisciplinary research on the landscape of Cortina d’Ampezzo, enriched with close fieldwork, provides a detailed picture not only of physical aspects but also of the social and cultural dynamics of this area of the Dolomites”.
Aron De Cesero’s dissertation on the wild artefacts of Cajada, presented at Venice’s IUAV University, in the context of the degree course in Architecture and Design Cultures (Supervisor Sara Marini; Co-Supervisor Marko Pogacnik), was selected on the basis that “the woodlands and the timber supply chain have been reinterpreted from an innovative perspective, establishing a valuable dialogue between environmental and landscape-protection approaches and economic and integrated-development proposals necessary for development of the Dolomites”.
The special mention for the work of Giulio Massaro on his consideration of a possible protected natural area in the Dolomiti Pesarine zone, submitted at the University of Padua for the degree course in Forestry and Environmental Sciences (Supervisor Laura Secco), attracted the jury’s attention for its acuity in handling “critical aspects of the management of mountain areas, including dialogue between policy makers and stakeholders, between active and passive protection of the asset and between participatory processes and institutional frameworks”.