The guardians of the Mountain

A journey through Aspromonte, Italy, where fire does not burn

Project realized with Michele Spatari

Italy, 2019

This project follows a wildfire prevention network in Aspromonte National Park – a place widely associated with institutional weakness and criminal presence – where local shepherds and volunteer groups act as lookouts and first responders during the summer season. The work looks at how a protected landscape becomes defendable through attention, presence, and routine – and at the people whose daily commitment turns prevention into a form of civic practice.

Every summer, wildfires devastate Calabria. In 2017 alone, around one sixth of the region’s forest heritage was destroyed, making Calabria one of the most affected areas in Europe. In most cases, fires are started by people – to convert woodland into pasture or buildable land, to exploit reforestation schemes, to create seasonal jobs, or as retaliation against local administrations. At the end of that summer, Carlo Tansi, head of Calabria Civil Protection, described the fires as deliberate attacks on protected landscapes.

Aspromonte is an exception. In recent years the Park Authority has implemented a monitoring strategy that involves shepherds and volunteer associations in spotting and responding to fires. Shepherds are hired by the Park as guardians, each entrusted with a portion of territory. If no wildfires occur, they receive a small fee at the end of the season – but the role is not reduced to compensation. It functions as an investiture, and as a recognition of knowledge rooted in place.

“If it was not for us, the Aspromonte would now be in ashes,” says Domenica Romeo, a shepherd and lookout.

Similar agreements are also made with local Civil Protection volunteer associations. In an area marked by long-term depopulation, involving the people who remain – and who have a practical bond with the land – has produced tangible results. In a region where fire is often both a tool and a symptom, the guardians of the mountain show what prevention looks like when it is built from the ground up – sustained by vigilance, responsibility, and a shared sense of ownership of the landscape.

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