Abstract

Collins's theory of symbolic interactionism is here introduced to the study of landscape heritage. His method for unravelling symbols in society can be profitably used to identify a signature of prestige indicating centres of attraction or civilizational poles charged with strong magnetism. The activation of that signature occurs through three levels of social circulation that culminate in the inclusion of symbols in the internal conversation of individuals. In the case of the Dolomites, the complex cluster of symbolic ingredients emerging in their heritage formation oscillates between competing zones of civilizational prestige – Venice and its Romantic aura, Switzerland and its Alpine sensationalism, Austria and its Germanic folklore, London and its cosmopolitan modernity – coexisting today in a multi-layered heritage, re-enacted, at various levels, through the interplay between different imaginative and contested geographies.

Keywords: UNESCO, landscape heritage, Englishness, symbolic formation, topographic memory, Randall Collins

Too much is asked of heritage. In the same breath, we commend national patrimony, regional and ethnic legacies and a global heritage shared and sheltered in common. We forget that these aims are usually incompatible.

This painting brings to the Ashmolean a poetic masterpiece in which Francesco Guardi reveals his full artistic potential. As the first major Venetian view-painting to enter the Museum's collection it makes an inspirational addition to the Britain and Italy Gallery. We are profoundly grateful to the Arts Council, the Art Fund, and other supporters for making this acquisition possible (BBC, 2014).

The fact that this stunning painting has been largely unseen by the public before now demonstrates the importance of the ‘Acceptance in Lieu’ scheme. Many members of the public will now have the chance to view and interpret this important piece at the Ashmolean when its fate could very easily have meant that is was lost forever from history (ibid.).