The new opportunities offered by immersive and inclusive technologies to represent and rediscover the complex relationship between human communities and water resources. – In order to know, represent and interpret the complex relationship between water landscapes and human communities the new technologies (immersive cartography, three-dimensional web, augmented reality, 3D environments) represent extraordinary and functional tools both for research and for territorial information and promotion actions in terms of tourism. Evidence of this is the project “Tourist Itineraries to Discover the Waters of Italy”, conceived and promoted by the GECOAGRI LANDITALY Interuniversity Research Group Association and financed by ACEA, aimed at promoting a process of water resource enhancement in the dimension of environmental, economic and social sustainability. The authors through some exemplifications and using a methodology of operational analysis, characterized by new syntaxes, reconstruct with the help of augmented reality and immersive technologies, as well as the canonical geocartographic and documentary sources, the material and immaterial dimension of the water resource in the Conca reatina, Umbilicus Italiae, where the sociocultural dynamics underlying the relationship between water and population, narrate experiences of vulnerability and development, participation and conflict, protection and threat. Through 10 ten interactive and implementable totem-stations, it is possible to embark on an inclusive and participatory journey that allows people to explore even inaccessible places. Not only video and audio, historical and thematic cartographies, photos and three-dimensional images, but also drone shots from which to observe from above what nature and culture have achieved and, if necessary, to land in particular places reconstructed through augmented reality that allows one to observe them as they were and as they are today, making clear the processes of transformation of which signs and sedimentations remain in the landscape palimpsest.

The Rome of “great events”: mapping and diachronic analysis at the city-territory scale. The impact of a century and a half of extraordinary interventions. – This survey offers an accurate analysis of the major events held in Rome since the beginning of the 20th century. The time under review starts with the 1900 Jubilee, when the organization of hosting activities was for the first time under the responsibility of Italian authorities with specific economic support for reception facilities, and with the 1908 Olympics, where the planned venue for sporting events anticipates some of the choices made for Rome 1960 Olympics. The latter were strongly advocated by Pope Pius X, but in the end canceled by decision of Giolitti with similar motivations to the “no” expressed by Monti for the Rome 2020 event. The time spans up to the next Jubilee to be held in 2025 with the PNRR- financed projects.
Through a GIS mapping of planned and/or implemented interventions, and a comparative analysis with official ante quem and post quem cartography, the pilot survey aims at highlighting how much and how the “extraordinary” influences the “ordinary”, that is, how much targeted interventions in the city specifically needed for a major event impacts and directs its transformation, pointing out how the “extraordinary” is binding for the “ordinary” in individual case studies.

Territorial education through the rivers. The “Flowing with the rivers” public engagement project. – The contribution reflects on how the value of water resources in the ecological transition can be shared and strengthened through geo-graphical education. In particular, the Public Engagement project “Flow-ing with the rivers”, financed with 48,500 euros by the University of Turin, whose objective was the development of an educational model to sustainably reconstruct the relationships between human communities and territory around water as a resource and fundamental element in all relationships between natural and human systems. The project activities developed between 2021 and 2023, concentrating the action on the territory between Turin and Savigliano, in particular between the Po, Tanaro and Maira rivers, and involved universities, associations, schools with teachers, students and parents, citizens, media and local administrations. The involvement of local communities was considered a basis of geographical education, starting from the idea that through awareness of the ecological, cultural and economic value of rivers it is possible to arrive at a plan for life, care and sustainable development that produces a social and cultural change in the valorization and management of water resources. The interdisciplinary working group, scientifically directed by Cristiano Giorda, involved fifteen researchers from six different departments and scientific areas. The main methodology followed was that of territorial education through outdoor education and place and art based learning activities, ca-pable of territorialising the scientific and artistic dimensions with skills linked to territorial values, landscape, sustainable development -bile and active citizenship.

The Afghan Wars: Between Economic-Cultural effects and Similarities in the Eura-sian Geopolitical Scenario. – The peculiar geomorphological configuration, characterized by imposing mountain ranges and desert areas, makes Af-ghanistan a difficult-to-access territory. Autochthonous peoples (different ethnic groups united by the war against “the foreigner” that also promoted the Taliban affirmation) widely exploited such a scenario suitable for guerrillas based on sudden attacks, difficulty accessing heavy weapons, and re-sistance to air attacks. The ability to counter invasions has been confirmed in the pushback of great powers, like Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America, which previously financed the mujahideen against Russian occupation. This management problem translates into the unexpectedly long democratization campaign of Afghanistan led by the Americans, which ended on August 15, 2021. The Enduring Freedom program, which envisaged the Western agreement of seventy nations for the implementation of a democratically stable situation and lasting in Afghan territory, proved a failure in the coexistence of the Americans in the cities and the Taliban in the valleys and mountainous areas. The withdrawal of American troops generated a sudden change in the international geopolit-ical scenario and, consequently, the Middle East balance. Through a brief historical overview of the conflicts that gripped Afghanistan, this work aims to provide a picture of the geopolitical, economic and cultural effects that have influenced the precarious balance of the Middle Eastern area of the world system.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan: recovery of inner areas for sustainable tourism and economy. – European Commission and European Parliament have issued the Recovery Plan, also called Next Generation EU, to revive the finance and the economy of European countries compromised by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Italian Government has developed a specific plan for the recovery of inner areas with particular attention to the redevelopment of the villages: very emblematic, in this sense, The National Borough Plan, promoted and managed directly by The Italian Ministry of Culture. The Recovery of inner areas perfectly coincides whit the great challenges of contemporary society: ecological transition, climate change, environmental sustainability, better quality of life. Concepts such as slow philosophy, slow food, slow tourism are increasingly popular and form the basis for a profound cultural change, to build a slow life that is more compatible with the needs and sensibilities of humanity.

Banks and Brexit. The “revenge” of territorial issues – The exit of United Kingdom from European Union will cause deep changes that will involve companies, investments and the entire productive structure of Great Britain. UK, indeed, will lose his position of comparative advantage because of belonging to European market. The aim of this work is to outline how the banking and financial sector will be affected by Brexit especially in light of the choices of economic operators and the reasons that are driving many financial groups to move to other EU countries. We will demonstrate that these choices will have a huge impact in the overall picture of redesigning the new European financial geography.

Financial Systems between conflictuality and territorial coexistence. Islamic Finance and the United Kingdom case. – Recent years are characterized by the increasing spread of Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) in the Western countries. This could be explained, on the one hand, because the Islamic communities are even more numerous, becoming an important interlocutor and an opportunity for the western economies. On the other hand, Islamic finance Islamic finance has several ethical characteristics that could identify them as a more stable financial model.
The present contribution aims to address the particular issue of Islamic finance, looking at the global diffusion of the phenomenon, in order to understand its differences and conflicts with the traditional financial model.
To this end, it will be treated the case study of the United Kindom where the phenomenon seems to have had more success than in other countries.

 

Migrate from Europe to Syria: From Foreign Fighter to Returner. – The theme dealt with in this paper concerns the migration flows of european foreign fighters to territories controlled by jihadist organizations in Syria and repatriations. Ffs were analyzed both with reference to the recruitment phase and in relation to the quantification of flows and the identification of the geographic arteries undertaken to reach Syria. Also through the direct testimony of the ffs it was possible to outline the profile of men, women and children and their role within the Islamic State. This also made it possible to analyze the relationships between IS, Syria and Turkey with reference to illicit trafficking and to analyze the relationship between the shari’a finance and jihadist groups. Finally, the flows of returnees were examined with reference to their quantification and to the problems related to their reintegration in Europe.