Risultati per " Regions"

The neo-rural phenomenon in contemporary cinema: insights from Il vento fa il suo giro and As Bestas. – Over the past two decades, cinema has played a significant role in exploring the themes of neo-ruralism and the emergence of new highlanders, offering critical insights into their multiple dimensions. This article examines two fictional films that have garnered both critical acclaim and public attention - Il vento fa il suo giro and As Bestas - with the aim of highlighting the key geographical and critical issues these works engage with. Through their narratives, the films contribute to the public discourse on the future of depopulated mountain regions, while simultaneously enriching the academic debate with new perspectives and interpretative approaches.
Living in Valbrevenna Today: Urban-Mountain Dynamics within the Greater Genoa. – The concept of “metropolitan mountain”, which has recently gained significant traction in academic discussions, encourages the reflection on the relationship between center and periphery, aiming to transcend traditional oppositions between metropolitan and mountain areas. Moving away from the city, the territorial processes reveal increasingly distinct dynamics that may offer valuable insights into the potential of these mountainous regions within the metropolitan context. In this article, the municipality of Valbrevenna (in the Metropolitan City of Genoa) is studied to explore the territorial re-configurations of cotemporary lives, moving beyond dichotomous perspectives to embrace a nuanced view of the social, economic, and demographic complexities that define this territory. Based on the results of extensive qual-itative field research, this study offers contextualized reflections aimed at stimulating further discussion on the specific configurations of a “metropolitan mountain” within the Genoa area also for what concerns the challenges offered by the climate changes.
Soil consumption, climate change, and large commercial structures. The Italian case study. – In Italy, between 2006 and 2022, over 1,200 km2 of land was consumed, most of which was derived from urban expansion processes. There are many relationships between soil consumption and climate change, both in causes and consequences. In this work, I focus on the soil consumption of large commercial structures, such as shopping centers, factory outlets, and retail parks. In Italy, there are over 1,300 of these structures, and – apart from the few cases that have occupied areas derived from the reconversion of abandoned industrial sites or other urbanized areas – they have mostly developed in rural areas or by occupying residual urban and suburban green areas. In this work, I first reviewed the interna-tional literature on soil consumption deriving from GSCs, discovering that it is extremely rare and does not deal with this type of urbanization independently but only in a generic way as one of the many aspects of urban sprawl. Instead, they become protagonists of scientific literature when they are abandoned. There is no specific legislation in the European Union or Italy on soil consumption in commercial areas. In Italy, the legislature in this matter is delegated to the regions. Still, despite the existence of restrictive regional laws on land consumption, there is no effective response to the problem at the moment.
Post-Covid tourism: an opportunity for renewal or a return to mass flows? The case of the metropolitan city of Genoa. – During the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the difficulty of international travel has revived proximity tourism in Italian regions, with some locations that have regained the interest of the domestic catchment area with regard to outdoor activities. With the aim of assessing market changes for this tourism segment within the metropolitan city of Genoa and in order to overcome the difficulties caused by gaps in the numerical data, this contribution presents the results of a questionnaire proposed to various workers in the sector (hiking/tourist guides, bloggers/instagrammers, managers of accommodation facilities and operators of outdoor tourism companies), combined with the analysis of official data on tourist movement. The results demonstrate a temporary increase of proximity tourism during the pandemic, while data on the following years (2022-2023) suggest a return to pre-pandemic habits.
Strategic planning and local tourism: the case of Grecìa Salentina. – The XXVI edition of the Report on Italian Tourism from the Institute of Sciences of Cultural Heritage of the National Research Council (CNR ISPC) revealed that in 2022 (Marasco et al., 2023), out of the 70.1 billion euros spent by Italian tourists within the country, only 15.2 billion euros remained within the visitors' home regions. This marked a decrease of about 0.5 percentage points compared to 2019, showing a negative trend for local tourism. Despite this, proximity tourism shows strong potential, especially in marginal and inland areas, which can contribute to these places' development and cultural awareness. To achieve this, it is important to integrate local tourism into a long-term process led by the local community, emphasizing environmental, cultural, economic, and social sustainability as outlined in Agenda 2030. This approach is exemplified by the Strategic Plan for Tourism Development for the Union of Municipalities of the Grecìa Salentina, which aims to promote sustainable tourism.
Water resources as an engine of local development: the case of the “water villages” of Rasiglia and Borghetto. – There are several cities have made water their hall-mark of tourist attractiveness and socio-economic development. In Italy, this category includes all the large coastal cities (such as Venice, Naples, Cagliari or Palermo) or those crossed by large rivers (Bologna, Florence, Rome), the centers that have sprung up on the edges of large lakes (Riva del Garda, Bolsena, Bracciano, etc. ) or those known because they are linked to the presence of hot springs (Saturnia, Montecatini, Fiuggi Acqui, etc.), but also the localities that bear precisely the title of “water village” and thus make it a distinctive and characteristic element. It is precisely these small and charming villages, hamlets of municipalities in inland areas, scattered in the various regions of Italy that over time have been able to enhance water both as a landscape element but also as an element of production and economic development, that are the subject of this contribution. Among these, the cases of Rasiglia and Borghetto will be analyzed to describe the role that technology in the past has played in building the relationship of these localities with water, the role it has today and could have in the next future to contribute to their path toward building a circular economy and thus sustainable development.
At the edge of the mar dulce: artificial lakes, new vocations and challenges along the Guadiana river basin. – The effects of the climate crisis on hydrographic systems, both superficial and underground, are now undeniable, with the incessant succession of prolonged droughts and catastrophic floods. The recent evolution of water governance in Extremadura, one of the European regions most affected by the effects of the climate crisis, is a relevant case study that allows stimulating reflections on today's hydro-social dynamics in the face of the worrying reduction in fresh water supplies. The Rio Guadiana basin was involved late in the process of hydraulic modernization which aimed at the renewal of Iberian agriculture. The pre-eminent irrigation purpose is associated with the production of electricity and the containment of floods. Added to this multifunctionality is the consolidation of a growing tourist presence along the banks of these mares dulces. But an arid nightmare is humiliating the dignity of Iberian hydrography.
Territorial gap and sustainability of tourism in Italy. Proximity tourism as a possibility? – Tourism is one of the most relevant factor of impact on development and sustainability. In Italy tourism generated strong territorial gaps, as we’ll show through several maps of tourism densities, migration dynamic, house rents and basic services levels of accessibility. This paper is aimed to discuss the near-home tourism as a possible key of sustainable development, with particular focus on Apennines in Lazio and Abruzzo regions.
Il filo conduttore, che ha animato la stesura del primo libro strutturato in due parti e curato da Anna Trono, Tomasz Duda e Jürgen Schmude, è l’interesse geografico di un nutrito gruppo di studiosi, nazionali e internazionali, per il turismo e la sua continua evoluzione.
Relational goods, imbalances, and the society-environment relationship. – The interactions between the economy, the environment, and territorial systems form a complex network that influences the structure and development of regions. The reflection is carried out both in relation to imbalances and in the reinterpretation of ecological and socio-spatial relations, collaborative processes, and the organisation and reorganisation of space as relational goods. The issue of territorial imbalances is linked to the question of conflicts within political ecology. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to present a theoretical reflection that aims to deepen the relationship between the economy, the environment, and territorial systems, focusing specifically on relational goods in the context of two spatiotemporal dimensions and referring to a territorial system as an alternative approach. The complexity of the territorial system, therefore, suggests taking into account the communicative and relational interdependencies between local actors, that influence economic growth and sustainable development. Finally, the responsible use of territorial resources requires public policies that reduce spatial inequalities, promote the active participation of territorial actors and the sustainable management of resources as components of local development.
In the Flood. Circumpolar cultures and global warming. – The imaginaries of water in circumpolar cultures are changing. The erosion of old cosmologies and the accelerated melting of permafrost and continental ice are gener-ating new syncretic narratives that are beginning to be studied by ethnology and cultural geography. In the Arctic, water has become a new concrete threat and the hydrogeological disruptions triggered by rising temperatures and human mechanical alterations are redefining the local way of describing the world and man’s place in the world. By relying on some case studies centered on real and symbolic risks that come from water, this contribution intends to illustrate how the Anthropocene is shaping the concrete and imagined geography of the circumpolar regions.
Southern transhumance routes between old and new economic perspectives: the case of Basilicata. – Transhumance is the seasonal movement of livestock guided, from dawn to dusk, by groups of shepherds together with their dogs and horses between the mountains and the plains along constant and marked routes between five geographical regions of the South. Since 2019 it has been included in the UNESCO heritage with its ways and can still be a driving force for economic and social growth for the regions of Southern Italy. In this work, taking into consideration the changes taking place on a global scale, we want to promote greater awareness of the genesis and evolution of the ways of transhumance and its economic vocations, of the production chains respecting cultural values and territorial identities, lifeblood for many fragile territories. A particular case is represented by the Basilicata region, so strongly interested in improving the quality of life of its smaller towns crossed by grass roads.
The contribution mainly examines the pilot project Parcovie 2030, as part of the Recovery Plan 2021.
The rediscovery of transhumance routes in the Matese area of Campania. Paths and economic chains. – The Matese mountain complex is part of the southern Apennines chain and currently divides the Campania and Molise regions. Inhabited since the pre-Roman age by Samnite people, throughout history it has represented a place of transit between the Campania plain and the Adriatic side. With the establishment and regulation of the Regi Trat-turi in the Aragonese era, part of the ancient walkways that crossed the Matese were used by the shepherds of the Campania side to connect with the main Pescasseroli-Candela sheep track that surrounds the mountain complex in the Molise part. Until the 18th century, sheep breeding and the production of woolen cloths represented among the most important items for the economy of the territories located on the Campania side of Matese. Centers such as Piedimonte d'Alife (today Piedimonte Matese), Cerreto Sannita, Cusano and Morcone based their economic well-being on these activities for a long time, so much so that they are considered among the most active centers of the ancient Kingdom. The purpose of this study is the rediscovery of this network of paths and of the ancient connected economic chains as a fundamental prerequisite for a development proposal for the area, which is currently experiencing a period of profound economic stagnation with consequent depopulation. The methodology used refers to the analysis of historical documentary and cartographic sources and the GIS will be used for the identification and tracing of these paths.
Transhumance and landscape conservation in Northeastern Italy. An open question – With Apparent relic of a world close to extinction, the practice of transhumance is today reconsidered because of both its own important cultural heritage, and the role played in landscape management. While roaming and crossing complex landscapes as those of mountains and lowlands, animals and shepherds become actors of micro-processes of maintenance and regeneration, creating relationships between rural and urban systems. But this role is far from being socially recognized everywhere, and often transhumance practitioners are left alone, or even obstructed, by political and administrative structures. Starting from the results gathered during the Erasmus+ project TRANSFARM, employing field research, mapping and policy analysis, this article focuses on the constantly changing relational space of the North-Eastern regions of Italy: in this complex context the practice of transhumance and its issues become an opportunity for highlighting the deep inter-connection between mountains and lowlands and a still scarce consideration of the importance of transhumance in landscape management among herders, administrations and planning practice.
Territorial disparities and SNAI criteria: re-thinking the classification criteria of inner peripheral areas– The concept of periphery can be defined at different scales (cities, regions, states) and according to multiple aspects which, over time, have attenuated the meaning of spatial position to favor the condition of socioeconomic marginality. In the regional context, there is a tendency to underline the decline in population and economic competitiveness, and the social decline of a territory in terms of poor relationships, often attributing them to the lack of opportunities and services, other times to poor accessibility. Some of these new meanings have been adopted by the National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI in Italian matter), launched in 2012 and revised in 2020, to identify and classify peripheral municipalities, i.e. those municipalities that suffer from the distance from some public basic services offered by the larger cities. This conceptualization has stimulated a large debate on the choice of classification criteria and applied methodology that directly influence the elaboration of territorial rebalancing policies. Considering this debate, the authors of this paper have analyzed the criteria underlying the SNAI classification as a pretext for exploring the different narratives of peripheral areas that have been following one another for several decades, sometimes overlapping, other times integrating and flanking each other. According to all this, the authors propose a revision of SNAI criteria and methodology to consider the accessibility of areas and their resources and endowments, recognizing the inner and peripheral areas as a place of opportunities.
Between art, culture and landscape. Three Famous cemeteries in Paris. – Along the centuries, a sort of pilgrimage to cemeteries, sometimes to very far ones, took place, as in the famous example of the travel of the poet Caius Va-lerius Catullus to the tomb of his brother.
On the contrary, in the 19th century the fashion to visit outstanding sepulchres, renowned for artistic or cultural purposes, emerged. The example of the cemetery of Genoa-Staglieno is well known, and the Novodèviciy monastery in Moscow was frequented, secretly and if possible, even under the Soviet power.
A recent statistic about the most visited graveyards worldwide reveals that, out of 417 places considered, 192 are Italians, lying in many regions: 55% of the total, while at the 2nd place is Spain with 29 places and 8,3% of the total.
In Paris this type of tourism reaches, above all, that of Père-Lachaise, and then that of Montparnasse and that of Montmartre.
The NRRP, going towards Sustainability. Focus on Piedimont. – The role of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), as regards the response that has been created following the pandemic, urges the long-standing processes in European planning. The pandemic has accelerated smart behaviours and the NRRP is the operational means of this programming for the choices that will be made in the next two or three years, which will define Italy’s future in the energy transition as well as some of its important regional specializations. The response to the crisis caused by the SARS-Cov-2 epidemic has accelerated and induced the European Union to respond to the dictates enclosed in the UN 2030 Agenda in response to climate change and the social and economic needs that are considered fundamental for the global stability and peace. From the point of view of sustainability, the data of Piedmont compared to the Italian average attest the Region in 8th place out of 20 Regions (IRES 2020, 2021). The answer largely depends on the indicators chosen. In 2020, the National Table for the implementation of the SNSvS selected 43 indicators in order to monitor the 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda. These 43 indicators incorporate some of the Fair and Sustainable Well-being indicators. This ensured greater significance at the national level and allowed greater comparability with the European and international level of the Piedmont Region.
Potential Impacts of NRRP Investments in Italian Mono-functional or Desertified Realities: Threats and Opportunities. – The contribution aims to reflect on the impact of PNRR plans and programs with particular attention to the sustainability of rural and mountain tourist regions, highlighting territorial criticalities and suggesting greater emphasis on the concept of adaptation and the possible role for activities related to education for the territory. The PNRR provides for a € 6.68 billion loan in the “tourism and culture” sector, which will make it possible to develop innovative actions to implement local development through the new ecological transition criterion. Much emphasis is placed on the digital transition and physical measures of renewal. Many realities of those compatible with these funds fall within rural and mountain areas, often characterized by negative situations up to conditions of real demographic and economic desertification. The poor economic and social sustainability of many peripheral and mono-functional territories, investigated by recent studies in the field, seems to link the transformation of these areas to actions of economic adaptation and diversification linked to climate change, with respect to which climate maps suggest an increase of the impacts in the coming decades. An investment in these areas, perhaps aimed at restoring or physical-functional de-velopment actions, runs the risk of producing little benefits if it is not accompanied by new forms of social, economic and even demographic attractiveness. The systemic vision can make it possible to operate in a more suitable way to the specific local territorial system, while the development of educational paths to the territory open to stakeholders active in the field can increase the possibility of investment success through the sharing and production of open local knowledge to the reproduction and renewal of territorial values as a project for the future of the subjects who live there and who work there.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict between Donbass and Crimea: spatial implications of a hybrid war – The Russian-Ukrainian conflict that began in February 2022 can be considered a peculiar model of «hybrid war»: it’s a conflict fought not only in a conventional way, but also with parallel activities, largely attributable to the world of communication, capable of use digital media strategically. These new modalities of war have particularly concerned Donbass and Crimea, two strategic regions in this conflict, highlighting the usefulness of geographical analysis in this regard. The purpose of this contribution is to illustrate and synthetically analyze the complex spatial roots of this conflict, then skilfully manipulated by the media systems of both sides.

Migrants, abandonment and reuse of historical centers. The case of Riace in Calabria. – Italy, a migratory crossroads between Europe, Africa and Asia, has always been affected by migratory movements that have affected its regions in different ways. In recent decades, they have assumed a synergistic demo-graphic dimension between population and depopulation, which modifies the structure and composition of the population, mitigating the unstop-pable demographic decline along with the depopulation of historic cen-ters. This is possible through urban redevelopment and socio-economic revitalization paths linked to the reception of migrants. The contribution analyzes possible causes and effects of migratory processes on the Cala-brian population, using the Riace case study as a model in which the “wel-come path” has had positive results and revitalized the historical center with the return of residents and the construction of a society with high values of cultural pluralism.

The role of policies for the activation of human capital and territorial mobility in con-trasting skilled youth emigration. – This study aims to investigate the role of local human capital activation policies and the value of territorial mobili-ty to contrast the phenomenon of qualified youth emigration. A phe-nomenon that has regained momentum in Italy in the last decade.
This study examines complex initiatives implemented by Italian regions and local authorities (especially Torno Subito by the Lazio Region and other programmes such as Ritorno al futuro by the Puglia Region and Master and Back by the Sardinia Region) that can serve as a model for national and European policy makers. Programmes that can help to counter skilled emigration and support the "right to stay" of a generation of skilled young people who, more than others, suffer from job insecuri-ty and a growing risk of marginalisation.

Anthropocene and geography. – The concept of Anthropocene is used today in many disciplinary sectors to thematize the issues concerning the enormous and growing impact of human activities on nature. His introduction in the field of geographic studies has placed at the center the reflection on the heart of geographic epistemology: the relationships between human societies and the environment, their ecological consequences, the interpretation of the landscape, the analysis and the critical deconstruction of representations, the relationship between physical and human geography in scientific investigation. The article discusses the contribution of geographers to research on the Anthropocene and presents some ideas on the role that geography can play in scientific research on the Anthropocene. On the one hand, geography can support the critical reading of the ways in which the Anthropocene has also become a concept widely used by the media, contextualizing and deconstructing narratives. On the other hand, also by using the potential of thematic cartography in visualizing data and allowing reflections and analyzes at different scales, helping to territorialize the Anthropocene narrative, highlighting the changes and processes in the different regions of the planet.

When conflict is not seen. Resilience/resistance and territorial hegemony in the forest territories of Chile. – The central-southern regions of Chile have undergone a socio-ecological reterritorialization in the last forty years due to the conformation of an industrial forest monoculture, associated with a forestry sector structured in an oligopoly, dominated by two holding companies. This paper analyses the territorial relations between the wine sector and the forestry sector in the Itata River Valley sub-region. Wine-growing was born in this territory in Chile in the 17th century and has consolidated over time, becoming a reference point on a national scale. In recent decades it has been subjected to various shocks: from changes in wine-making processes to forest expansion. The results of the research lead us to think of socio-ecological relations in terms of a territorial hegemony operated by the main forest societies in economic, cultural and political terms. In cases where they come into contact with productive activities which are “resilient” to this expansion, such as wine-growing, forestry companies adopt practices of co-optation, favoured by the strength derived from the dimension of multinational holding.

The wind farm as a symbolic landscape. – Wind energy has had a remarkable development in Italy in recent years, despite severe criticism on the environmental and social impact of the plants. In particular, numerous studies and research have been conducted on the subject of the visual impact of wind turbines, mostly giving space to those who consider them a territorial realization that disfigures the landscape. The widespread construction of what today in Italy are commonly called wind parks must however lead us to consider that just as many are those who see in the plants not so much an element of visual disturbance but, on the contrary, an element of the landscape with an acceptable aesthetic value, and in some cases even positive. The research focuses on two wind farms – Monte d’Aria in Marche and Cinque Stelle in Liguria – close to established Italian tourist regions with the primary aim of giving a voice to those who, residents or tourists, consider them symbol and flag of a new, correct approach of society towards the natural environment.

Social capital and digital interactions in Italian regions during the emergency phase Covid-19. – With the implementation in Italy of the prevention measures against the spread of the Covid-19, social interactions have been recalibrated through the use of digital infrastructures such as Internet, which have strengthened stable and innovative social relationships. The aim of this research was to evaluate by a quantitative approach, the relationships in all Italian regions of social capital and digital interactions. The analysis has corroborated the existence of a regional divide and a dominant position of some regions of northern Italy and a different relational involvement of the population in all Italian regions.
2020: Which future awaits Italian regions
New spatialities at the time of Covid-19: the case of Genoa. – The Covid-19 epidemic has had a significant impact on Liguria’s and Genoa’s population in terms of infections rate and associated fatalities, both due to the links with other regions of Northern Italy and the old population. Following national lockdown measurements, the population had to face dramatic changes in habits and everyday life. The paper looks at the impact that the lockdown measurements had on spatiality and everyday life in Genoa’s neighbourhoods. A survey has been carried out among a representa-tive sample of Genoa’s population. The results are analysed also in terms of their spatial distribution, showing the different impact that the lockdown measurements had in the city’s neighbourhoods.
The effects of the diffusion of Covid-19 on the production situation in Campania. – The effects of the Covid-19 epidemic in the Campania region, less relevant than in the central and northern regions in terms of number of infections and specific mortality per 1,000 inhabitants, however, had an impact which, measured on the basis of income production and occupation, they came already profiling at the conclusion of the lockdown imposed on the population and production activities, extremely serious. The purpose of this contribution is to assess, on the basis of the first surveys made available, and on the basis of the analysis of the state of the regional economy and of the employment levels measurable on values referring to 2019, to what extent the region will face the situation following the first epidemic phase. In particular, the initiatives (including economic ones) put in place or planned by the regional territorial institutions and by the measures on a national scale falling within the socalled decrees “cure Italy” and “relaunch”. Attention is paid to the tourism sector and related activities, in the awareness that today the greatest suffering is showing.

Territorial Reorganisation and Differentiated Autonomy: A Matter to be discussed in light of the Plague. – The arrangement of local self-government is one of the elements that the management of Covid-19 has involved most. During this period people saw many difficulties of the Italian administrative structure and it had consequences on the efficiency of the institutions and markets too. The arrival of Covid-19 has called into question many aspects of internal life in the country and the gained experience pushes for the revision of some aspects of Italian political affairs. This contribu-tion aims to underline – through two case studies – some themes of political geography raised by the new condition and to indicate the new opportunities they open up. To do this, the authors discuss, on the one hand, the reorganization of the state administration after Law 56 of 2014, the new hierarchy of administrative powers and the launch of the Metropolitan Cities. On the other hand, they address the debate on the request for Autonomia differenziata (differentiated autonomy) presented by three regions – Veneto, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna – in order to in-crease their spaces of power, and the consequences for the rest of the country.

Covid-19 and Tourism. Sardinia: opportunities and tourist development perspectives. – The global emergency due to the spread of Covid-19 has resulted in restrictive measures for the movement of goods and people and in the stop of large production sectors, including tourism. The crisis that has affected the tourism industry worldwide also has negative consequences in regions such as Sardinia, already suffering from structural problems, among which there are seasonality and the prevailing incidence of the seaside model. In the Italian regional scenario, the island is among the least affected by the spread of the virus and, in view of a remodeling of its offer system starting from the implementation of organizational and governance structures and the strengthening of other identity tourism products capable of integrating different territories and sectors, could exploit this element to reposition itself as a smart and safe destination.

Smart: Opportunities and Risks for Urban Development and Challenges for the African Continent. – In recent decades there has been a proliferation of studies, research and approaches to the “smart” theme, viewed with interest as the “new” frontier of sustainability, which seeks to combine technological development with territorial development, social inclusion with environmental protection. This seems very stimulating for the develop-ment of the poorest regions of the Earth, which, following political instability, or economic difficulties, or structural and infrastructural back-wardness, are lagging behind the richest and most stable regions, although in recent years they are witnessing a very fast GDP growth rate. Starting from some definitions of “city”, I will examine the concept of “smart city” and will try to identify the approaches that best respond not only to objective needs for the development of a territory, but also to its qualitative characteristics, in so that “smart” urban and territorial planning projects represent a real and effective instrument of integrated and lasting development, also in urban and rural Africa.
Regional development policies and spatial planning in Campania. Some reflections. – The article reconstructs just under half a century of studies, proposals and programs of the so-called policy of rebalancing, which is a set of policy decisions and actions, including successes and failures often, which marked the public intervention for development of the Campania‟s region in the establishment of the first regional government in 1971 until today. The first part is devoted to a comparison between the vision that the various planning documents give of regional planning regional and geographical reading of these same processes in their territorial dimension, proposing also part of the literature on the geography of urban development of the southern regions and, in particular, of Campania. The second part tries to give indications on the nature and causes of the regional gap and on which roads can be traveled to attempt, if not overcome, at least a reduction in the logic of policy of re-balancing.