Colour as a Distinctive Element of the Territories

Abstract

This paper is part of research under development, which aims to define a set of criteria and/or parameters in the fields of design and communication, to enhance the sustainability of Low-Density Territories, through the recognition of their identity and their distinctive signs.Thus, this article aims to know if the colour is constituted as a distinctive sign and contributes to the identity of the territory.According to studies developed by several authors over the past few years, the distinctive signs, whether tangible or intangible, are identifying and differentiating elements that ensure ethical and fair competition, which encourages sustainability. They can contribute decisively to the construction of a region's iconography, the reaffirmation of its territorial imprint and are a stimulus to territorial development. In the context of signs and place identity comes the concept of genius loci, or spirit of place, created by Norberg-Schulz, which refers to the distinctiveness that characterises each place.As long as there is light, colour is in every landscape we see. Whether they are, or not, worked, by Man, each landscape holds a palette that is composed of the colours that compose it: sky, vegetation, soil, rocks, buildings, signs, among others.For Simon Bell (1993), despite the chromatic variability that landscapes present, they are associated to a limited scale of colours, a fact that facilitates the definition of a local identity.Talking about local identity, as far as colour is concerned, leads to the concept of Colore Loci, which derives from the previously mentioned Genius Loci, created by Raimondo, to demonstrate the unique characteristics of a given place.In order to achieve the established objective, three types of landscape were identified: Natural Landscape, characterized by being able to have, or not, human intervention, but where the action of nature prevails and where the presence of construction is very reduced or even null; Landscape built by Man using local natural resources, refers, for example, to urban agglomerations where local materials are used to build, i.e. where local stone is used for the design of streets and pavements, for the cladding of buildings, or for the construction of exposed stone walls; and Painted Landscape, which is one that, regardless of whether or not it uses materials from the region, stands out for its deliberate use of artificial colours, which make these landscapes unmistakable.Through the analysis carried out it was possible to conclude that colour is even a distinctive sign of the territory, since each place has different types of heritage, natural and built, and these give the landscape distinctive shades, through permanent and non-permanent colours. However, and turning the focus to the valuation and attractiveness of the territories, which is the central theme of the doctoral research, it can be stated that the colour, and its use, can also create the identity of a place, and thus enhance it and make it attractive, since according to the analysis carried out, the spaces created by colour (the painted landscapes) are the most visited.