Evoluzione del paesaggio viticolo del Mendrisiotto

Abstract. The decline and the fragmentation of the areas devoted to viticulture in the Mendrisio district (Ticino) since the end of last Century, as revealed by topographic maps, is a sign of the profound transformation of both landscape and society. It is not only the surface which has changed but also the human activities:

- mixed culture has been replaced by specialized cultivation (monoculture)
- the variety of vine grown has decreased considerably
- the vintner has become independent, working his vineyard parttime only.

These transformations reflect the mutual relationship between space and society, inside and towards the outside. Thus three different explanations can be offered:

- the "inherited space" from the end of the last Century
- the "polysemic space", i. e. the space at the intersection of relations between the Mendrisiotto and other regions, in particular Ticino and Lombardy, Switzerland and Italy
- the existing relations between space and society as far as considered.