Fort the third appointment of the online programme designed in 2021 for the International School of Cultural Heritage, professionals from the Mediterranean and Latin America gathered virtually in front of the images of monumental roman imperial villa dating back to the 1st century B.C. surrounded by an ancient olive grove, on the shores of Lake Garda.

Moving from the description of this very peculiar landscape, Flora Berizzi, Director of the Archaeological Area and National Museum of the Grotte di Catullo, launched a stimulating reflection on the protection of cultural, archaeological, historical and landscape heritage during the lecture that took place on the 29th of March, 2021.
The peculiarity of this archaeological park located in Sirmione, consists indeed in the vast historical olive grove which surrounds the archaeological area and the museum. The circa 1500 trees, some of which are centuries old, represent a natural and agricultural heritage of great value that requires constant maintenance work for the preservation of both the grove and the productivity of the crops.

A naturalistic and archaeological setting of great interest to the participants in the programme, who further discussed it during the round table held on 8 April 2021, attended by colleagues from Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco together with Director Berizzi.
On this occasion, the foreign colleagues were able to present two cases presenting issues related to landscape preservation: the archaeological site of Anjar, in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, with the important regulatory intervention that was necessary to preserve the landscape integrity of the site; the Ajlun Castle, in the Ajlun Nature Reserve in Jordan, where the oak trees forest surrounding the site made it possible to make some comparisons with the olive grove of the archaeological area of Grotte di Catullo. Moving from these case-studies, the meeting was an opportunity for a discussion and exchange of ideas on the challenges and opportunities related to the management and enhancement of sites where the fusion of naturalistic and historical-cultural elements contributes significantly to defining the identity of the territory.