Historic Gardens and Parks Worldwide and in Greece: Principles of Acknowledgement, Conservation, Restoration and Management

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Florence Charter 1981 on Historic Gardens sets the first guidelines for the definition of a historic garden, in which sites such as large parks, whether formal or landscape, are included. Since then, there is a continuous effort worldwide on issues of historic garden acknowledgement, conservation, restoration and management. Countries with garden and park tradition, such as the U.K., USA, France and others, have several sites registered and protected. Furthermore, historic garden and park associations exist in Italy, Spain and Portugal, among other nations. In Greece, there is no specific official policy or association regarding historic parks, gardens or landscapes. Greek law includes historic gardens and parks within the spectrum of works of art, places of outstanding natural beauty and historic places/lands for partial or absolute protection, and, thus, attempts in identifying historic landscapes fall generally in other categories, but law specified for historic gardens. However, in both the Greek ratification of the European Landscape Convention and the European Biodiversity directives, there are aspects one could interpret as very useful for the acknowledgement and policy-making on historic gardens and parks. In this paper, an overview on historic gardens and parks abroad and in Greece is attempted, along with aspects of acknowledgement, protection, conservation, restoration and management. Finally, a first attempt on methodological outlines for the acknowledgement and conservation of historic gardens and parks in Greece is presented.