Ecomuseums

The eco-museum is an open museum of culture, nature and history, without walls, spread over a limited territorial area (Davis, 2011; Karp et al., 1992), which contains intangible and tangible elements of local heritage. These elements shape the essence and uniqueness of the ‘spirit of the place’ and the local distinct identity (Corsane et al, 2008). An eco-museum is based on the combination of activities, performances and narratives on issues related to the landscape as nature and as a human construction, as a function and arena of complex changes, as a historical archive and as a living space, as a storehouse of collective memory and as a value, as aesthetics and as an idea. 

Museums are limited to walls and exhibitions of objects in specific ways, with more emphasis on objects. In contrast, eco-museums function as a space of communication, with objects telling their story as ‘living’ parts of the place, revealing their relationships with man and his landscape, contributing to the empowerment of local communities (Davis, 2009). Therefore, the focus is not on objects but on man (de Varine, 1976: 127). 

In other words, through an eco-museum, the uniqueness of a place can be captured and attributed, given that conventional museums are not capable of capturing the distinct nature and physiognomy of places (Davis 2009, 2011). Thus, the visitor can get to know, experience and evaluate the reasons that led to the settlement of people in this area, their history, habits, way of life and value system, the characteristics of their local economy and the continuous formation of their cultural landscape (Tuan, 1977).

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