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ABSTRACT – This paper intends to explore issues related to rural landscapes as a common good and the significance of the micro-regional or community scale in terms of their great potential to increase awareness of historical narratives, values and meanings, on the basis of which heritage communities may be built.
In order to achieve this, we will trace a history of European actions to preserve historic landscapes. By identifying the specific character of Mediterranean rural landscapes, we will illustrate possible strategies for virtuous community engagement with the historical environment and trace the interface forms between landscape archaeology and contemporary society, providing examples from case studies in Italy and Greece. The strategies proposed here focus in particular on the significance of the community scale, the traditional rural past and ethnoarchaeological paths of co-production of knowledge, as well as the assignment of cultural meanings to environmental features.