Spatia-temporal analyses of parks and gardens of Rome

Abstract

The city of Rome is rich in green spaces: natural areas, parks, villas, gardens and tree-lined roads are important legacies that require accurate management and maintenance. For this purpose, a Geographies Infonnation System (GIS) has been set up that is specific to each green space typology and based upon both a survey of the current conditions and the acquisition of historical documentation in order to analyse the transformations that have occurred. In fact, accurate knowledge of the changes that have determined the current situation must be the basis of future management and planning. The analysis of the city' s landscape transformations by means of landscape ecology methodologies1 can be mentioned as an example of the application of this kind of approach. Moreover, the analysis of the historical transformations of treelined roads has demonstrated the relation between the species employed and the particular historical and political period of the city.