Tra rimozione e recupero del cemento: un approccio antropologico alla patrimonializzazione del paesaggio di Casale Monferrato

The processes of heritagization often rely on a selective construction of landscape narratives. This mechanism creates an “authorized heritage discourse” that valorizes certain elements while marginalizing or erasing those that contradict the desired image. This is strikingly evident in the case of the Monferrato region, recognized by UNESCO for its wine-growing landscape, where a narrative of rural idyll deliberately conceals its significant industrial past. This paper examines the systematic silencing of the region’s history as a European hub for the cement industry. Through an ethnographic approach focused on Casale Monferrato and its surrounding communities, the research argues that this “obscuration” is not merely an aesthetic or political choice. Instead, it is a profound response to a deep-seated collective trauma. The legacy of cement is inextricably linked to the “slow violence” of occupational diseases and mass death caused by asbestos, turning a symbol of modernity into a painful public secret. Thus, the acceptance of these other narratives is necessary to expand and make a more truthful representation of the landscape and its history.