Piranhas between Hills, Stone and Lime: the dichotomy of Tourism and Integrated Conservation in the hinterland.
Cultural Attributes; Piranhas; Hinterland; Tourism; Historic Site; Urban Morphology.
This research presents the challenges to the conservation of the historic and landscape site of Piranhas, in Alagoas, Brazil. It reflects on the impacts that the tourist activity exerts on its heritagezation after the listing by the Institute for National Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 2004. Located in the hydrographic basin of the São Francisco River in the sertão – hinterland – of Alagoas’ state, Piranhas has a mountainous topography, with rocky soil covered by the typical “caatinga” vegetation – desert-like Brazilian biome –, characterized by dry tortuous branches and cacti. The land occupation uses the local topography for the hierarchical positioning of the properties and is related to the implantation of steam navigation, the railroad during the 19th century, the opening of the AL-220 highway, and the insertion of the Xingó Hydroelectric Power Plant at the end of the 20th century. The high cost for residents to maintain their residences in the historic site; the lack of residential use in the protected area; the deforestation linked to the irregular occupation of the hills by the hotel industry; and the increase of historic sceneryzation consist in some of the impediments to the full apprehension of the historic site’s cultural attributes. The research is divided in three parts: (i) dissertation on the morphological and configurational aspects of the different land occupations in Piranhas; (ii) discussion on the impacts of tourism on the establishment of the local scenery and cultural standardization, and a study on the current legislation, tombamento – listing – and heritage management from an integrated conservation standpoint, listing and discussion of the attributes and values; followed by (iii) a qualitative analysis of the conservation state, and an assessment of conservation management guidelines. Thus, this approach presents the impacts derived from the dispersion process on the territory, the rapid transformations linked to the tourism activities, and how they impact its natural and cultural heritage. The main question of this study is: how can Piranhas preserve its identity under the pressure of recent conflicts related to tourism activities?