Across religious wars and resistence: the transnational valorization of Waldesian Valleys

The valleys of Chisone, Pellice, and Germanasca in the province of Turin are traditionally known as Waldensian Valleys due to the presence of this Christian minority. Its forced settlement in these territories allows for symbolic analysis of this landscape, experienced as impregnable during the period of persecution, as echoed by its current toponym. While searching for places of memory, since the mid-19th century, many of the natural shelters found there were monumentalized by the Waldensians as if they were forts. Today, they are still included among the Historic Places toward which cultural institutions implement conservation and valorization policies. These sites are part of a local network. Since 2013, some of them have been included in the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe’s “Huguenot and Waldensian Trail”, through which places of the reformed tradition have been linked with other systemic elements of the territory. The desire to interrelate heritages about different periods and cultural matrices has led to a stratigraphic analysis of territories associated with a complex perception of cultural heritage. The contribution aims to show how this valorization approach can activate what is mentioned in the Faro Convention, i.e., developing knowledge of heritage as a «resource to facilitate peaceful co-existence by promoting trust and mutual understanding with a view to resolution and prevention of conflicts» (Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society, 2005, art. 7).