Risultati per " Territories"

Western Italian Boundaries. The geopolitics of Sabaudian space in Giovanni Botero’s Relazione di Piamonte. – In recent decades, the historiography dedicated to the Duchy of Savoy has reflected at length on the theme of the borders and frontiers of the pre-alpine dominions, investigating in depth the composite nature of those territories between discontinuities (the Monferrato, the marquisate of Saluzzo, imperial and papal fiefs ...) and attempts at assimilation. Reasoning around a text such as Giovanni Botero’s Relazione di Piamonte of 1607, we intend to retrace in a geopolitical key the agglutination of the Savoy territories, taking into account both local and international dynamics of the second half of the 16th century. Amidst tensions with France along the Alpine ridge, internal frictions with the Waldensian valleys, and Mediterranean projections, the complex picture will emerge within which Charles Emmanuel I on the one hand consolidated the achievements of his father Emmanuel Philibert with the peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, and on the other prepared the breakaway from Spain in the wake of the conflicts over the succession of Mantua and Monferrato (1613-1618; 1627-1631).
Climate and coasts: transdisciplinary research practices for adaptation to climate change in italian coastal territories. – The contribution presents the first results of the Research Project of National Interest PNRR 2022 on the contrast to the effects of climate change on Italian coastal geosystems, entitled “From the Beaches to the Coasts: towards an Integrated Coast Protection”. The PRIN involves a group of researchers from different SSD (lawyers, geographers, urban economists and statisticians) and Italian universities (Bocconi, Cassino, Iuav, Roma Tre, Urbino). The first results that will be illustrated in the article concern the design of collaborative research practices and transdisciplinary open science in the field of integrated coastal zone management and the Atlas of sustainability and integrated coastal management in Italy.
The Evolution of the State and Economy in the Modern Age as Premises of Contemporary Geopolitics. – The main institutional and economic phenomena that emerged in the Modern Age and that favored the subsequent birth of geopolitics in the 19th and 20th centuries are the following: the transition from the patrimonial dynastic State to the absolute State, the birth of political borders and related cartography, religious wars and their overcoming, the challenge of the Ottoman Empire to Europe, geographical discoveries, the capitalist organization of the world. These phenomena gave rise to a territorialist geopolitical thought in the Age of Imperialism, more sensitive, that is, to the political-military appropriation of the world than to the cultural, commercial and financial control of territories.
Collective land tenures: socio-ecological infrastructures in the mountain territories of l’Aquila, Italy. – This study examines collective land tenures as socio-ecological infrastructures articulating multi-scalar relationships among local communities, rural commons, and mountain governance. Despite extensive dismantling and erasure during the twentieth century, these institutions persist as self-governed systems supported by statutes and assembly-based practices. Drawing on qualitative methods including participant observation, interviews and walking as a research method in the mountain territories of L’Aquila, the research shows how collective land tenures continue to sustain ecological stewardship yet struggle to reproduce civic participation and territorial habitability due to depopulation and the erosion of cultural transmission. Recognizing them as socio-ecological infrastructures highlights their potential for civic regeneration, ecological care, and shared decision-making, offering self-organized responses to contemporary political and socio-ecological challenges in mountain areas.
Politics, Education, and Geography in the Early Modern Period: Notes for a Histor-ical Analysis. – This article explores the connection between political au-thority, education, and geography in the early modern period, analyzing how the teaching of geography became a fundamental tool for managing and controlling emerging territories. In a context of fragmented educa-tional systems, the article highlights how geography was used to address the new political, economic, and social needs of European powers. Schools, both secular and religious, particularly those run by orders like the Jesuits, played a key role in transmitting this knowledge, contributing to the creation of new skills essential for colonial expansion. Finally, the article underscores how geography, understood as both a scientific disci-pline and a political tool, became a point of convergence between educa-tion and power, legitimizing the imperial ambitions of European.
The memory of water. Hydrosocial fragility and urbanisation in Cagliari. – In Italy, the modern abstraction of human beings from the environment has led to a strict technicist management of natural resources and to a clear separation between urban and social policies, not entirely overcome by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). In particular, urban strategies struggle to reason about the role of water in the territorial system, relegating it to technical risk management interventions. From the debate around the mesological approach, various declinations of the relationship between human presence and water outline an often-chaotic palimpsest of plans and visions of urban space.
The contribution addresses the case study of the Cagliari municipality of Pirri, in the relationship between the historical condition of hydrogeological and social fragility and the new urban strategies to contrast risk. This systemisation is possible by adopting a reading of Pirri as a hydro-social territory, which allows us to critically reconstruct the history of the hydro-social fragility of this territory and consequently to re-read past and future planning policies.
Major sporting events, discussed legacies and host destination transformations. –Among the various interpretations with which one can look at events, one possibility is to understand their legacy, understood as what remains in the territory at the end of the event itself in terms of symbols and values, or structures and systems; and if this legacy often becomes more important than the event itself. The article aims to examine the case of the Barcolana, an annual sailing event and regatta that takes place in the Gulf of Trieste. It is one of the largest and most famous sailing regattas in Europe and the world. The regatta attracts thousands of participants and spectators, mak-ing it a significant cultural and sporting event in the region. The Barcolana is known for its unique format, which involves a mass start in which hundreds of boats of various sizes and classes participate in a single regatta. Almost eighteen hundred boats were registered for the fifty-fifth edition last year. The event lasts a week with events on land and at sea, as well as the sailing competition which takes place on Sunday. After a review of the literature relating to the topic under study, through a qualitative methodology the factors that together create those effects, often positive but not only, on the territories involved in the event were analysed. The “on the move” interviews with some event participants were useful for understanding the involvement and quality of the event itself, and how to guarantee its continuous and gradual development.
Global Goals, Local Gaps: The Presentation of the 2025 ASviS Report on Territories
A geography for institutional cohesion. The OSAII Interuniversity Center: rebuilding politico-administrative territories through the interweaving of knowledge.
Comparative Experiences of Equestrian Sports Events in the Metropolitan Area of Rome. – Sports events offer an opportunity for regeneration, visibility, and international repositioning for the hosting territories as they can lead to the creation of cultural districts, displaying the territory’s self-representation and specialization. While these events require significant organizational and financial commitments, they also present strategic opportunities with various effects, such as economic diversification and cultural enrichment. This study examines the territorial impacts of two equestrian sports events in the Rome metropolitan area: the 2022 World Equestrian Games and the Piazza di Siena horse show. Despite
performing the same sport discipline, these events have different economic, social, and environmental impacts, as well as varying dynamics related to managing territorial conflicts. The reflection aims to analyse how to reconcile the goals of tourism-economic development and environmental protection in areas with significant natural value, by identifying programmatic actions and best practices.
Digital currency and geopolitics: the challenge between United States and China. – This research focuses on the potentially revolutionary role of the Chinese digital currency, the Electronic Renminbi, in reshaping the Chinese banking system and transnational geopolitical and economic dynamics. The e-RMB, part of the Chinese reform agenda since 2015, aims to redefine international balances by challenging the dominance of the US dollar. The Chinese strategy, exemplified by initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, seeks to transition from American unipolarity to a multipolar system, ensuring stability for China’s economic growth. The e-RMB presents a seemingly liberal standard with privacy guarantees, but it actually aims to build a parallel system based on authoritarian capitalism and surveillance in the new territories of cyberspace.
Glaciers and Water bodies: Considerations and Emerging Prospects in Alpine Settings. – This research highlights the importance of the relationship between glacier health, snow cover, water resources availability and territories in the Alpine region. Snow has the strategic task of protecting glaciers, feeding freshwater reserves, regulating sea level and supporting local communities. However, snowfall is decreasing and snow and ice are melting faster due to global warming. Therefore, planning future risk management strategies is mandatory for water governance and environmental protection. In this regard Engadin represents an interesting case study. In this region, a local project aims at slowing down the retreat of the Morteratsch glacier. Moreover, a watercourse renaturation project has also been implemented in order to overcome the problem of substantially increased river flow due to rapidly melting glaciers. These are examples of policies that should take into account current climate changes and the physical conditions of the mountain environment.
The policy of museum free admission and the enhancement of cultural sites as a potential tool for the transition of territorial gathering spaces. – The choice to adopt museum policies that provide free admission to museums could impact the increase in visitors. It could generate social repercussions on the territory and act as a tool for transforming meeting spaces, with particular attention to some European realities. The study aims to analyze the correlation between free admission, frequency of visits to museums and propensity to return. The literature outlines an overview of the current situation of the economic, social and territorial impact of the museum sector and the use of the museum as a possible new aggregation space for the younger population. The methodology used is a qualitative em-pirical approach through interviews aimed at a sample of young people, aged between 18 and 26, identified among student groups. The sample survey will make it possible to establish, specifically, how much the income of the subjects interviewed and the difference in admission policies between the various European museums and territories considered can affect the degree of use of the museum facilities.
Agreements on the use of water, cooperation, policies and conflicts: river contracts in Italy. – The paper aims to explore the concept of river contract as a tool for participatory management of water resources, analyzing in this context the key role of conservation and management of their naturalness. The main objective of the research is to understand how river contracting can facilitate the conservation, enhancement and transmission of cultural heritage while promoting the sustainable development of local communities. The methodology is based on a review of the available literature on the river contract concept, its role in cultural heritage enhancement, and the need for the geo-mediation phase as an important moment of shared and participatory planning. The results of the research, in addition to highlighting regional differences in the application of River Contracts in Italy, indicate that the river contract although not widespread can act as a catalyst for the management and enhancement of cultural heritage, actively involving local communities in the conservation of their territories. The implications of the research may be useful for scholars, practitioners and institutions interested in the conservation and enhancement of water resources through the implementation of planning strategies by identifying the figure of the geomediator as a facilitator of performative processes.
Proximity tourism and enhancement of the returning artistic-cultural heritage. – In marginal contexts, it is conceivable to think of a reflection on proximity tourism through artistic-cultural initiatives that dialogue with the landscape, highlighting the disparities in development between territories. Within the framework of this approach, the activity of relocating artworks emerges as an innovative strategy to transform the artistic heritage into an engine of revitalization and alternative fruition, while promoting local tourism. This approach is evident in various projects, including that of the MIC called “100 artworks come home”. This initiative aims to return artworks preserved in the deposits of 14 Italian museums, moving them to their places of creation to reconnect them to the historical and cultural context that inspired them. This study aims to explore the potential of this practice, analyzing some experiences to try to understand whether relocation (from the museum to the place of creation or first location) has generated ways of use capable of stimulating tourist dynamics and contributing to the attractiveness of villages and small towns. The lines of reflection that we intend to propose are therefore to seek a possible reading of proximity tourism with a view to enhancing the widespread artistic-cultural heritage and to reason precisely on the link between territory and heritage in terms of reconfiguring the dynamics of concentration (flows, cultural heritage...)
Water as a resource and as a value: territories in competition and the need for protection as a strategic tool. – The aime of this work the value of water as a primary good, focusing the attention on the sustainability and value of water as a limited and not infinite resource, to arouse a new awareness. The protection of water resources and aquatic ecosystems is one of the cornerstones of environmental protection. The value of water is the result of both the complex interactions between natural and anthropic factors distributed across the territory, and of their dynamics over time. The Danube region is facing several challenges and a new development protection strategy aimed at promoting economic development and envi-ronmental protection. A truly important step for the protection of biodi-versity and the environment. UNESCO has designated the Danube River as “the first 5-country Biosphere Reserve in the world”. The adhering States undertake to administer with particular attention to resources and sustainable development, with the full involvement of local communities. Is underlined the need for balance taking into account the multiple val-ues of water: biological, social, environmental, symbolic and cultural.
Nearby tourism and local development. The unexpressed potential of the Lazio lakes. – In the last few years, due to global events, traveling has become increasingly complex. These difficulties have produced the birth of a new type of tourism: slow and proximity tourism. A type of tourism directed to nearby and little-known places. a type of tourism looking for outdoor activities, uncontaminated territories, a different way of appreciating local culture and the landscape. The Lazio Region is a large container of this type of tourism: historic villages, religious destinations, typical products and a landscape rich in rivers and lakes. In 2021, ARPA Lazio detected the presence of 20 lakes, different in geomorphological and hydrogeological characteristics, located throughout the regional territory, which are perfect for welcoming tourists looking for slow and proximity tourism. These lakes are exploited for tourism purposes only to a small extent. The objective of this contribution is to start a reflection on what has been done and what should be done, placing lakes at the center of sustainable development projects.
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.
Sardinia between transhumance and the Blue Zone. Socio-spatial dynamics, rural lifestyle and diet of a geographical area of exceptional longevity: Ogliastra. – The rural dimension of Sardinia is strongly represented by the historical and social role assumed by agricultural activities on the island, which have always been characterised by transhumance phenomena (in Sardinia Tramuda) that, at different scales from the rest of Italy, have characterised some Sardinian rural territories (Ortu, 1988; Lai, 1998). Ogliastra has long been one of the lands of transhumance in Sardinia (Schiavone, Schiavone, 2014), and is marked by a high number of long-lived individuals (Blue Zone), for which, the rural environment, lifestyle and local interrelation-ships and genetics have influenced the health status in this area (Pes and Poulain, 2014). The work aims to investigate the socio-spatial dimension of food production linked to the rural (transhumant) culture of Ogliastra, trying to understand the configurations of territoriality (Turco, 2010) and how this socio-spatial, rural and food model may have influenced the particular longevity of the area. The Blue Zone diet, in fact, typical of transhumant territories, can become a catalyst for the sustainable devel-opment not only of Sardinia but also of many small Mediterranean rural areas and, furthermore, can facilitate the re-appropriation by the younger generations of their ancient identity heritage.
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 in Cilento region: between resistance and new social practices. – The article discusses the significance of transhumance beyond its traditional territories, exploring new social and residential models due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Transhumance practices offer opportunities to rethink territorial centrality, but tourism could lead to both potential and risks of commodification. The Cilento region serves as a case study, where trans-humance has historical roots, but tourism has reshaped the economy. Initiatives to revitalize transhumance and its symbolism are emerging. The study reflects on their role in promoting social values, yet cautions about their complex relationship with tourism in the long run.
Sicani-telling: small stories from Sicily’s margins. – This article tells some stories from the Sicani inner area, in Sicily. Drawing on the considerable debate that in recent years – particularly after the National Strategy for Inner Areas, launched in 2012 – has flourished, this article aims to contribute to the deconstruction of the aestheticizing visions that invest these territories. In particular, the narcotized image of the bourg is critically considered: a discursive and political tendency that underlies selective and pacified imaginaries. Following the idea that small stories produce the world, the article describes some narratives collected during an experiential guided tour through walking research methods. This storytelling is analyzed asking what discourse is produced on these marginal places. As a result, the small stories are a mode of the geographic discourse: a method in doing geography with an embodied and affective approach.
Animal cities. Mediated experiences and collective narratives for unnatural geography of the wild. – The clear separation – conceptual, ethical, spatial – between man and wildlife (Whatmore, 2002) remains to this day one of the most fascinating topics of reflection around our relationship with the environment. The cultural history of the wild, especially in its North American roots, hinges on the preservation of territories marked by the absence of appreciable anthropic traces, an exotic, ahistorical nature, in open contrast to urban and peri-urban areas, understood in an Enlightenment sense as spaces of civilization, themselves purged of the presence of the non-human. A binary biogeography that unequivocally identifies the right space for the human, placed at the centre, and the non-human, at the margin. Yet, this stark contrast has been brought to the centre of both scientific debate and public interest, especially during the historic 2020 lockdown, when images and multimedia content have extensively documented the fragility of this strict division of space. Starting from a reconstruction of contemporary mass media discourse, the contribution, therefore, aims to document how the emergence and circulation of grand narratives such as that of ‘nature spaces’ or the ‘awakening of nature’ can reveal epistemological dynamics common to different socio-economic contexts, but also substantially different responses to the various phenomenologies of the wild. The very notion of the margin as a dividing border between man and nature is discussed in relation to the descriptions and representations mobilized by newspapers and social media, to explore the possibilities and potentialities of a reunion between human and non-human, even in non-domesticated forms, in anthropized environments such as those of cities.
Criminogenic Dynamics of Actors and Stakes in Transhumance Territories. – Using the Abruzzo mountains as a point of departure, the contribution illustrates the dynamics of actors currently shaping transhumance territories, but which have nothing to do with the age-old practice of animal herding; instead, they threaten it. These are criminogenic dynamics supported by cross-regional networks of actors who aim to gain control of mountain pastures by dividing up the national territory. By utilizing the mechanisms of "titles" provided by the Common Agricultural Policy for the receipt of direct aid for farmers, European contributions amounting to millions of euros are obtained. The hypothesis that the research results, related to one of these networks in particular, seem to support is that there is substantial continuity with organized crime interested in territorial control.
Forms of Resistance at the Margin of the City. The Vesuvian Area and the Environmental Issue across territories and representations. – This contribution proposes an exploration of the forms of civil and artistic resistance developed at the margins of the metropolitan city of Naples and, in particular, it focuses on the Vesuvian area and the environmental issue. It develops through cognitive path that considers the dialogue between the Mount Vesuvius and the community of his habitants, as well as the link between artistic production and environmental struggle, which characterize many narratives that come from these places since the Seventies. From Operazione Vesuvio project to the land art installation of Salvatore Emblema, the article highlights a chain of radical environmental sensitivity, which, despite the environmental devastation and social rarefaction of this zone of marginality, propose new ways of coexistence with the environment and the natural landscape.
Transhumance for legality: a case study in the Sicily region. – The article discusses the recognition of transhumance as intangible cultural heritage of humanity and its importance in safeguarding and promoting territories. The study focuses on transhumance within the project “Parks, Shepherds, Transhumance, and the Great Ways of Civilization”, highlighting the role of transhumance in driving economic development, even in situations where it has been in decline. The specific study area is Troina, a town located on the Sicilian Island, where transhumance is characterized by the exclusive use of horse breeds, particularly Ragusan donkeys. This practice carries symbolic significance for the municipality and the community involved as it symbolizes the reclaiming of land once controlled by organized crime. The collective practice of transhumance in this particular context reinforces the idea of legality. The study employs a comprehensive approach, including a review of relevant literature, a qualitative methodology involving field interviews with key participants in transhumance, and the analysis of historical and geographical data. Through these methods, the study aims to shed light on the current understanding of this equestrian practice and its impact on the local community.
New mountain people, new activities, and new forms of transhumance: adapting traditional patterns in val Aupa, Friuli Venezia Giulia. – The study is part of the broader topic of the transition to modernity, and the passage to post-modernity, in the rural and mountain peripheries of the Eastern Alps. A passage, which took place starting from the mid-1900s, which often means a catastrophic impact on society and territories, in particular of certain areas, such as some valleys of Friuli, which involves the well-known phenomena of crisis and depopulation, to the point of creating situations of real human desertification, and the abandonment of entire valleys. It is therefore a question of understanding how the premises can be created for such re-conversions, and for the acceptation of changes, to take place without trauma, to create situations in which modernist and post-modernist innovation (today connected with globalization, and with the various digital transitions, ecological and of various kinds) can be usefully combined to avoid dramatic ruptures. It is the question, first, of rural economies, of agriculture and livestock, possibly connected to transhumance, in its various expressions, to be repurposed and adapted in appropriate way.
Geographers and cartographers from Sicily between the 16th and 19th centuries. – The study aims to analyze the development of geo-cartographic culture in Sicily between the 16th and 19th centuries in relation to the evolution of geographical studies in Europe induced by the progress of scientific knowledge and the discovery of new territories, the result of great geographical explorations.
After a brief examination of the affirmation of Geography between the Renaissance and the modern age in the various European countries and in Italy, the study will proceed in the delineation of the development of geo-cartographic culture in Sicily through the examination of the production of Sicilian geographers and cartographers, certainly minors and often misunderstood, active on the island between the 16th and 19th centuries, trying to grasp the most significant aspects in relation to the various events which, over time, have conditioned the island’s culture.
They are often exponents of the local aristocracy and of the clerical class open to culture and relationships with scholars from other countries who, acknowledging scientific progress, devoted themselves to geographical studies and elaborated cartographic surveys no less significant than those produced outside the Isola, certainly stimulated by the desire to know the peculiarities of the island in different historical moments, but sometimes by the need to study and graphically represent the changes induced on the land structure by natural events, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and plagues, or by episodes of war that exploded between the various political forces which tended to impose their power on the island.
Landascape of Decay. Landscape of the Camorra: Characters, Perceptions and Storytelling. – For a reading of the landscapes of the Camorra, the peculiarities of a territorial nature should be analyzed: economic, urban planning, social, criminal and narrational of these particolar landscape scenarios of degradation. By practicing a critical analysis of the relationships that are established between organized crime and the landscape. In its physical forms and in those of individual and community life. The Camorra landscape is produced by a system of community relations achieved by a range of widespread illegal attitudes and behaviors, converging in actions of laceration of the civil fabric. The perception of this set of negative values is a fundamental component of the generation and perpetuation of this landscape. The individuals and communities of those territories have the perennial cogency of an "underlying" landscape present to their sensorial and cultural perception, based on disvalues distorting every action and behavior, therefore every feeling of them. The territory, its use and its governance, is strongly characterized by uses, practices, meanings and a particular storytelling. Made up of values charged with social and criminal negativity, but also fully perceived by the communities. Communities are forced to undergo this particular territorial connotation, which becomes fundamental in the emergence of this landscape of organized crime.
NRRP and Inland Areas. A Reflection on Inclusion and Cohesion Strategies in tge Grecanica Subregion. – The work aims to analyse the possible role that the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) may have for the Inner Grecanica Area (Calabria Region), in the margins of the work plan implemented by the SNAI (National Strategy for Inner Areas). The objective of this contribution is therefore twofold. On the one hand, to map the main results of the local development plan of the SNAI in the Grecanici territories; on the other hand, to verify the current needs of the area in question within the framework of Missions 4 and 5 of the PNRR, with particular regard to the components related to: i) the strengthening of the supply of educational services linked to the re-appropriation of the Grecanici language and culture; ii) social infrastructures; iii) special interventions for territorial cohesion. Through semi-structured interviews administered to institutional actors and to the component of cultural associations, social promotion, foundations, and non-profit organisations of the local community, an attempt will be made to identify social, educational and cultural developments and marginalities in the Grecanica Area and thus to verify whether they can find a response from the reforms envisaged by the PNRR. By means of GIS mapping, the scientific community and those who are working in the sector will be provided with a picture of the Grecanica area, following the policies launched by the SNAI, from which to reflect on the “reforms” envisaged by the PNRR for the Region of Calabria.
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.
"Tourism, communities, territories. Frontiers of sustainability"
The Italian Small Islands in the PNRR Missions. A vision of the future. – The paper aims to understand the possible effects of the PNRR on the Italian Small Islands. The relationship between insiders and external actors, as well as the relationship of interdependence with the mainland, highlight the Italian Small Islands as a promising “laboratory” for investigation, not only as case studies but also as a complex and articulated spatial and territorial context in which some of the general dynamics tend to be emphasised. The peripheral dimension of the Italian Small Islands (Turco, 1980) has meant that since the Second World War they have been included among the “underdeveloped areas” and subject to the interventions of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. Within this scenario, the smaller islands were the subject of specific funding or actions, in some cases emphasising their dependence on the mainland. This dependence has also been recorded in the policies of the National Strategy for Internal Areas (SNAI), which classifies island municipalities as peripheral or ultraperipheral, without however taking into account deeper local dynamics that effectively cancel out these conditions of peripheralisation. The PNRR proposes some missions explicitly addressed to small island territories, such as the achievement of a circular economy, forms of development that dialogue between tourism and sustainability, but also more general actions aimed, for example, at the mitigation of territorial gaps. The paper seeks to connect PNRR, tourism development and the challenge of Small Islands’ seasonal geographies.
The Youth of the Inner Areas and the Italian NRRP. – The Italian NRRP provides considerable financial resources to promote a green transition and a digital transformation of people and territories. Young people living in the inner areas of Italy have an opportunity to overcome marginality and become key actors of development, making of diversity an asset rather than a source of inequality and epistemic injustice. Based on these premises, the research illustrates the youth policies and the strategies for inner areas within the framework of the Italian NRRP, then focuses on the peculiarities of young people living in inner areas. The analysis highlights the need to create new jobs in peripheral territories, to make migration an opportunity rather than a necessity. Specifically, it is important to approach the issue of employment in inner areas with the lens of youth policies, that is, by developing bottom-up approaches to discover latent and untapped potential to be used to achieve sustainability.
The Protection and the Development of Mountain Areas in the Perspective of the Italian National Plan of Recovery and Resilience. – In Italy, implementing the cohesion and territorial development strategies displayed by the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) is complex because of its increasing socio-economic divides. In particular, the mountain areas – traditionally left on the margins of the national development strategies – ask for careful consideration. The traumatic experience of the pandemic, the lockdowns and the ecological transition challenge have awakened the political and media attention to these vital but fragile territories that produce natural resources and ecosystem services for the benefit of the whole community. The contribution discusses whether the NRRP contains adequate invest-ment indications and priority of intervention for the protection, long-term development and functional integration of mountain areas with the rest of the national territory. Concerning the methodology, the paper develops a qualitative analysis of the evaluation reports on the NRRP published by some leading mountain associations (UNCEM, ASVIS, INU, CAIRE) and the communication of a specific NRRP call (call “Villages” on Action 2.1 Village Attractiveness) employed to communicate and promote some calls.
Aviation, airports and territory. – Transport geography deals with the movement of freight, people and information, seeking to link the spatial constraints and attributes with the origin, destination, extent, nature and purpose of movements
Within this view, the paper analyses the cross-relationships between territories and transport, identifying how transports influence territories.
In this paper, particular attention is paid to aviation, an element that contributes to shaping interactions in geographical spaces.
Methodologically, the first part highlights the development and charac-teristics of air transport, emphasizing the relationship between transport and economic systems.
Then the analysis focuses on the topic of accessibility and airport struc-tures, outlining the distinctive features that characterize transport, i.e. di- stances and territories, since the purpose of transport is to overcome space, which is limited by human and physical constraints such as dis-tance, time, administrative divisions and territory.
Ai confini

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.

Thermal and SPA tourism in Italy: evolution, impacts and future perspectives. – Thermalism is a complex and articulated sector that in Italy over the years has changed its positioning. This study aims to identify the SPA tourism evolution and its contribution to the development of local economies, as well as how it can generates and increase a value proposition for the local sys-tems in the post pandemic. The data confirm the assumption of the importance of the SPA tourism in the sustainable development of the local economies that have specific resources. Furthermore, this contribution aims to state the objectives, which need to be achieved to reinvest, and regenerate territories devoted to SPA tourism in order to benefit from the possibility of reconstructing new models as a unique opportunity offered by the pandemic for this tourism sector, which represents an important resource in social and economic terms.
Redefine tourism model. Reflection: critical issues emerged during Covid-19. – The new emergency we are facing with current spread of coronavirus imposes restrictions in everyday life and mobility across different territories and countries; we are globally compelled to face mutual problems, regardless of unilateral positions and this is giving strength to globalization just when a crisis of the globalized world model seemed to be consolidat-ing. Even modern tourism in the pre-pandemic economic and political situation was building a path of progressive quantitative growth and showing positive signs even in the most difficult moments of the recent international economic crisis. However, global tourism is now displaying an overall weakness as never happened in the pasts and it is starting featuring negative data and forecasts showing how this emergency is affecting a substantial portion of the Italian economy, which has reached 13,2% of GDP in 2018 with subsequent significant meaning also in terms of employment. Although it is difficult to foresee future tourism developments, this paper wants to suggest a reflection on the possible scenarios that could be configured out in the medium term, starting from considerations on the role that the national corporate system in tourism has played within the Italian supply chain.

The Covid-19 pandemic within an inner area of Campania: peripherality, density and virus diffusion in the province of Avellino. – In Italy the Covid-19 emergency hit some of the territories crossed by the thickest commercial networks and the intense flows of human mobility
The paper aims to reason on the factors of territorial vulnerability that may have facilitated the spread of the virus, trying to formulate a first hypothesis about the low density settlement structure has protected the more peripheral communities of the inner areas. Starting from the epidemiological data in an inner province of Campania - that of Avellino - the analysis will try to give a first possible framework of the relationship between the degree of peripherality from the service poles, population density and virus diffusion.

Geographical barriers: borders versus frontiers. Significance and impact postCovid-19. – This work aims to study geographical barriers by analyzing the duplicity of geographical status which see them divided into two qualities marked by the terms border and frontier. Trying to read the different impacts that follow on communities and territories. By studying how these geographical status of barriers have changed following globalization. How they are returning after the epidemic from Covid-19. Analyzing the consequences in relation to the space-time compression caused by globalization and regarding the geopolitical and socio-cultural strategic dynamics of states.
Geography under “full sails”: territorial analysis and reflexive cartography on Covid-19 in Italy. – The paper exposes the theoretical and methodological ap-proaches adopted to conduct an analysis on the contagion trend of Covid-19, in relation to the specificities of the territories. After a study of the geographical settings adopted for research purposes, the focus is set on the problematic nature of the data available inherently to the infection. This paper also reflects on the tools and sources of information (such as, for example, collective databases, scientific blogs, or online platforms) adopted during the analysis. Finally, through the exemplification of the evolution of the contagion at national and Lombard level, the contribution exposes the relevance assumed by the reflective maps and by the cybercartography which, underlining the territorial importance of Covid-19, contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon in its complexity.

What remains of the legacy of Matera 2019 after Covid-19. – The health crisis, which brought with it a consequent economic and socio-cultural crisis, dramatically revealed the vulnerability of our economic and production model, which is not very resilient to sudden and sudden changes. The coronavirus crisis requires, in fact, to take the lens of sustainable development and the 17 Sdgs grid to "inspire" the restart, proposing and taking better choices for the future, thus avoiding wasting resources and perpetrating in secular errors. Nothing will be like before for the sectors that have suffered and are experiencing the uncertainty of tomorrow: first of all, tourism. Tourism and, more generally, the entire hospitality, catering and culture sector are among the sectors most affected by the Coronavirus crisis. Some particularly critical situations are above all in cities that add culture, business and congresses. The case of Matera, ready to manage and reap the legacy of the extraordinary year from ECoC, clearly poses the urgency of the convinced turn towards the 2030 Agenda, to make our territories more sustainable, resilient and inclusive.

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.

Geographies of Pandemia in the Chile of Social Riots. New appraisals of urban-rural inequalities. – The global spread of the Covid-19 virus, its speed and mode of propagation, the implications on morbidity, social relations and local and state economic dynamics, redefine the social construction processes of the territories. We propose a reading of the Chilean case, in an attempt to relate the structural, economic and territorial conditions, with the evolution of the health measures adopted, read through the perspective offered by social questions at the center of the protests that have animated the country since 18 October 2019. The structural political framework is the hyperliberist economic model, imposed during the dictatorship of General Pinochet, preserved and enlarged by the center-left governments in the last twenty years, which has among its elements characterizing the maximum opening and dependence on markets international, a production sector flattened on the export of raw materials, the privatization of fundamental services (such as health). At a time when, due to the virus, individual states restore a generalized closure of borders, the Chilean model aims to perpetuate itself by depriving special economic interests of collective well-being, further accentuating internal inequalities between groups social and between territories. The objective of the contribution is to analyze how much the geographical peculiarities of rural areas (low settlement density, relative isolation in terms of connectivity, ecc.) can limit the spread of the virus and, at the same time, how the limited presence of essential services (such as specialized medical centers) may give rise to greater negative effects than in metropolitan centers. The adopted methodology foresees: – a quantitative analysis of the dynamics of the spatial diffusion of virus – a diachronic and micro-territorial analysis of the containment measures adopted by the central government, supplemented by an analysis of the discursive constructions of the main social actors - a discussion of the interrelationship between political actions, social and economic factors.

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.

Geography of the sacred: mystical literature as a source of knowledge. – The paper addresses the question whether mystical visions can offer a contribution to the knowledge of territories with regard to historical geography. The attention is limited to Christian mysticism, on which a rich literature is available, accompanied by in-depth critical analysis.
In several cases the authors provide us with significant details about the environment that is the background to episodes of sacred history, that is the geography of the Holy Land at the beginning of the 1st century. Without discussing the theological problems, the paper investigates the writings from two mystics almost a century apart, the German Anne Catherine Emmerick, a blessed nun of the 19th century and the Italian Maria Valtorta (died in 1961). These are examined in order to ascertain the validity of the geographical information contained therein and their originality with respect to the knowledge to their time.

Breathing the Atmosphere of the Past. The “Strada dello stracchino e della pietra”. – Since many decades the cultural heritage has a very important role in the construction and development of territories. It can be tangible and intangible and it is a factor of the territorial production. Among them several cultural expressions, one of the most important is the typical magri-food production. In this article the attention is focused on the traditional production of stracchino and to its related civilization, which has produced tangible signs in the territories which today represent the authenticity of the territorial development. This is strictly connected to the new and modern forms of tourism, which compose the frame of a “total leisure experience”, such as the one of the valleys studied in this case study.

New Synergies Between Territories and Enterprises: The Benefit Corporation as Potential Actors of Sustainable Development. – Recently, in Italy, have been introduced the Benefit Corporation (BC), ie a new legal form once a formal recognition of those companies intending to pursue a different business model: the “for benefit”. These companies, in fact, are placed in a limbo between non-profit and for-profit, associating profit targets with requirements of transparency and accountability to a wider number of stakeholders such as employees and citizens, reaching the interest for the natural environment and the territory. The challenge launched by the BC is that to get a rapprochement between doing business and society that goes beyond a simple and residual integration of social concerns, introducing into the reasons of being of the company's one or more purposes turned to the common benefit. In this sense, the classical concept of corporate social responsibility undergoes a transformation and becomes more strong.
This study has two objectives, firstly to clarify the nature, the struc-ture and the geographic distribution of those enterprises, on the other hand it aims to check as this modern way of understanding the business may affect on the territory and the extent to which the context where the companies are placed can to contribute on their functioning. To achieve the ultimate goal will be analyzed recent experiences in the Italian system, taking into account some of the existing realities.

Southern Italy and Euro-Mediterranean development. Cultural Routes for a new territorial vision – Cultural routes have assumed, for our country and especially for the South, a particularly important value and are becoming nowadays ever more instrument and opportunities for tourism innovation. The perception is that we are at the gates of a new historical phase in which a substantial reflection on new forms of enjoyment of territories contrasts with the aggression of the great cultural heritage.
To the south and along the trajectories of cultural and historical itineraries, the common Euro-Mediterranean root of crossed territories and the ties between communities deserve a different consideration, new forms of integrated tourism and a different narrative ability.
For these reasons an organic reflection on the prospects of territorial development, starting from the routes that run through and give life to the Southern Italy and Mediterranean tourist realities, erroneously defined minor, becomes particularly important nowadays, and probably one of the concrete sources of feasible sustainable development.

La Via degli Abruzzi: old routes to new territories. – The contribution aims to consider the Via degli Abruzzi, if supported, as a picture and as an input for the assertion of original territoriality from the extraordinary values that has accumulated and articulated over time, will work as a specific brand of network. A project of renewed fruition of the Via of Abbruzzi, to promote attractiveness of the region, through magnifying glass bet on the  territory of Aquila as a critic subject that  still living events of deterritorialization far from being resolved, also the bearer of the instances of some territories in difficulty, not only local or regional.