The transition from a society characterised by the prevalence of hunters and gatherers of fruits to temporary agricultural settlements and then to permanently cultivated areas, capable of providing stable harvests, was at the basis of the process of civilization in Italy. This process also includes the domestication of the woodlands which was not only reduced in size to create cities, pastures and fields, but mainly modified in its characteristics of density, structure and specific composition to provide a vast range of products necessary for life. Thinking about the landscape in protohistoric times, we must refrain from the idea of the prevalence of mountains covered by forests and of human settlements concentrated mainly in the plains. Numerous authors report the preference of primitive populations for the terraces and morainic amphitheatres of the mountainous areas. Fire plays a fundamental role in the construction of the landscape and the shaping of forest, particularly through the practice of slash-and-burn (debbio). This practice is widespread from the north to the south of the peninsula and is documented by numerous sources, particularly linguistic ones. As can be understood, the maquis scattered throughout our peninsula are one of the many historical landscapes that we could define as of “social” origin. Understanding the practice of debbio allows us to understand not only the processes of deforestation but also those at the base of the formation of the scrubland and other plant formations that derive from its use.