ing and forestry (in the uplands). This
mixed livelihood strategy, is still practiced
by Zi’ Bruno Bevilacqua, a seventy year old
farmer from Acqualacastagna, a small
hamlet in the uplands of Spoleto. Zi’
Bruno’s farm is located in a small water-
shed, ranging from 600 to 900 meters
above sea level. Downstream, close to the
hamlet, there are three arable plots that Zi’
Bruno cultivates with maize, potatoes,
beans and pasture on rotation. In this area
there is also a vegetable garden, a fruit
orchard, a pen for courtyard animals and a
stable were cattle is kept during the cold
winter months. Food crops and products
are mostly consumed on farm. Money
comes primarily from 30 ha. of upland for-
est that cover the upstream part of the
watershed. This includes five ha. of hun-
dred-year-old marronichestnut trees (a
species introduced in the area at the
beginning of the XIX century) which pro-
duce a highly valuable variety of chestnut
used by the confectionery industry to pre-
pare marrons glacés. Posts and firewood
are other important products in Zi’Bruno’s
forestry enterprise. Moreover, indigenous
cattle and horses are pastured in enclosed
glades and woods. Ultimately, every year
the forest provides plenty of mushrooms
and a good catch of wild bores. Thesehunting and gathering products are con-
sumed by the household or sold to
Spoleto’s restaurants.Forest is a very important capital asset in
Zi’Bruno’s livelihood, and has to be man-
aged wisely. To ensure a
good yield and facilitate har-
vesting, chestnut tree plots
must be cleared from sec-
ondary vegetation every two
years. Firewood cutting in
the sloped small-chestnut
(castagno a bosco) and
small-durmast (roverelle)
forest must be done wisely
in order to preserve the
strongest and biggest speci-
mens (which would be bet-
ter exploited in the future
for posts and timber). Cattle and horses
must be rotated from one glade to the
other, in order to avoid overgrazing and
erosion. All these forestry activities require
a lot of work, most of which can only be
done by hand. As sons and daughters
have left Acqualacastagna, Zi’Bruno and
his wife run the farm by themselves, with
the help of some occasional worker or
neighbor. Yet, the workload is becoming
too heavy even for two strong and healthy
rural elders. They have some savings and
a pension from the Peasant Union, which
will allow them to survive when they will
no longer be able to continue forestry
work. But what about the land and the for-
est? Should these be sold or left to some-
body who does not care nor has the
knowledge to maintain them? What will
happen to the marronichestnut and timber
trees and the glades where the nutritious
grazing species grow? What will be the
fate of the natural capital that Zi’Bruno
and his wife have nurtured throughout
their life?Ten years ago it would have been difficult
to give a hopeful answer to these ques-Conservation aas ccultural aand ppolitical ppractice
Figure 1.The Acqualacastagna watershed
(Courtesy Patrizio Warren)
After tthe mmajor
crisis tthat aaffected
the ccountryside iin
the 11960 s aand
1970 s, aagro-
tourism aand oother
innovative eenter-
prises aare rrevitaliz-
ing UUmbria’s
rural llivelihood
systems