In the field of Civic and Citizenship Education we talked about education in respect and valorization of Cultural Heritage and we saw how, in cultural goods, the following are included:
- assets of historical and artistic interest, such as monuments and architecture, archaeological sites
- environmental assets such as natural parks
- intangible assets such as artistic, agricultural, culinary, musical and religious traditions.
In Italy, in particular, there are over 100,000 cultural assets that fall into these categories, and our landscape, historical and artistic heritage is protected by ARTICLE 9 of the Italian Constitution which states: “The Republic promotes the development of culture and scientific and technical research. It protects the landscape and the historical and artistic heritage of the Nation. It protects the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems, also in the interest of future generations”
With the students we then focused on the birth and role of UNESCO, the United Nations organization founded in 1945 with the aim of promoting peace and understanding between nations, through education, science, culture, communication, information. We also discussed the concept of World Heritage and the Convention adopted by UNESCO, according to which the assets considered so important as to be the heritage of all humanity are identified, protected and preserved.
Among these UNESCO assets are our DOLOMITES, declared a World Heritage Site in 2009, for their beauty and unique landscape and for their scientific importance at a geological and geomorphological level.
The drawing work inspired to our research about UNESCO consisted of copying square-format photographs of the Dolomites with colored pencils. Copying from life allowed us to investigate the colors of these extraordinary mountains, the conformation of the rocks and the chiaroscuro that forms at different times of the day. First, we traced on a normal photocopy sheet all the lines that could help us reconstruct the image, including those that outline the shadows and lights.
Subsequently, continuously observing the photograph, we colored the drawing trying to be as faithful as possible to the search for colors, overlapping the colored pencils to obtain the right shades. Very important was the awareness of shadows and lights, which create the volumes of the shapes.
Copying from life trains the eye and the hand to observe and makes us know the image in a very profound way, this too is a way to protect, love and enhance our extraordinary heritage.
