The work of identifying the DNA of the Altopiano della Paganella was conducted by the Director of the Paganella Public Libraries and was based on twenty years of investigating local history and archive documents.
Bringing to light any “dominant genes” (in itself already an innovative approach) from 1000 years of documented history required an original study method, and so we tackled the forest of dates and events following an experimental approach. To our amazement, the study enabled us to:
• Distil the timelines for each of the 5 local communities into a collective narrative.
• Observe the “emergent features” of local history, from Medieval times until today, and the most marked temperamental traits of these communities.
• Identify in the exceptional – but recurrent – events of local history the underlying features of a personality shaped over the centuries.
• Reveal in present day collective life the symbolic antiquity of mute signs and cultural fossils, identifying their deep meaning.
• Recognize that the special features of the Altopiano emerged from centuries of learning how to live in the mountains.
The study method made it possible to formulate historically founded hypotheses, suggestions, and provocations that were brought back for discussion in the Future Lab.
