After going to the old paper mill, we all went on a hike through the beautiful cliffs of Amalfi. Walking through the cliffs we saw the remains of the terrace system that was put in place hundreds of years ago. We also saw the modern agriculture that is still going on in the same area. The majority of agriculture in the area we walked though was lemon trees. These lemons are Amalfi lemons, not just regular lemons. We walked along the small river that flowed down the mountain. Our guide explained that this river and several others have been utilized and modified for centuries in order to serve the community and increase productivity. He also explained that the rocks in these terraces are not traditionally fortified with concrete, which makes it even more impressive that they have lasted for so long. We saw some men along the hike who were making repairs to the stairs, which means that the area has people who take care of it regularly.
The article for today was about the terrace system in Amalfi. Terraces here date back to the 10th century AD. The article argues that the best way to be sustainable in this area is to do periodical maintenance of the terraces. The biggest problems that the terraces face are climate change, soil erosion, heavy rainfall, and abandonment. Each of these is connected to one another and each one leads to the degradation of terraces, which is difficult and expensive to repair. In our class discussion we talked about whether or not our walking along the terraces was bad for them environmentally, especially considering their failing stability, which led into the next question of whether the situation was as bad if we consider that our walking along the terraces was a form of tourism, which could become a larger part of the Amalfi economy. People said that what we did specifically wasn't harming the terraces because we were only walking on the paths beside them. People also said that if tourism increased near terraces it could damage them more.
Picture of Amalfi terraces
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