1216 | 373 | “Ain’t no mountain high enough” | Benetti Stefania, Cerutti Stefania, Menzardi Paola
In the last decades, the process of depopulation of mountains has led to a shrinking of public services and small entrepreneurial activities in these areas. However, the pandemic crisis contributed to the rediscovery of mountains, in particular from a tourist point of view._x000D_
Piedmont is made up of mountains for almost half of its territory and an extensive system of 95 protected areas and nature reserves. Large wooded patches, peaks, plateaus, refuges, railways, and valleys dotted by rural villages on the ancient transit routes of wayfarers and pilgrims, merchants, and smugglers can be explored. Piedmont’s mountains is an open-air gym, a destination for mountaineering enthusiasts, but also for trekking, rock climbing, horseback riding, wild watching, and other activities with beneficial effects of nature._x000D_
Here, mountains are immersed in imposing high-altitude landscapes, where it is not the final destination that counts but the path. Paths made by sounds of nature and slow tourism, by signs of cultures and historical events. Moreover, a high concentration of creative and cultural enterprises has profoundly affected the craftsmanship and socio-economic development of these territories._x000D_
In this context, the project NODES (Nord Ovest Digitale e Sostenibile) aims to develop an integrated system of sustainable and participatory proposals for the tourism relaunch of the Piedmontese mountains. The specific objective is to identify cultural ecosystems and thematic clusters (e.g. wellness and health tourism proposals, networks of cultural itineraries or sports paths, etc.) and to feed a flow of data and information about natural and cultural heritage useful to local companies and operators. In the end, the final goal is to create a model of territorial dialogue, where stakeholders and communities are involved in the management of co-build proposals for sustainable and integrated tourism.
Benetti Stefania, Cerutti Stefania, Menzardi Paola
Università del Piemonte Orientale, Dipartimento per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile e la Transizione Ecologica
ID Abstract: 373