Digital and Territorial Trails System for Developing Sustainable Tourism and Enhancing Cultural Heritage in Rural Areas: The Case of San Giovanni Lipioni, Italy

Abstract

Depopulation has become a significant issue for local culture and built heritage conservation of many European rural areas. In San Giovanni Lipioni, a province of Chieti (Italy), this phenomenon has increased to the point that, nowadays, there are only 150 inhabitants and no significant economic activities. In this regard, the present paper aims to describe the crucial role of nature-oriented tourism in an economic, social, and revitalization strategy; how digital tools can be used to map and create a territorial trail system between municipalities; and, finally, outline the operations necessary for reactivation. The proposed methodology consists of a first digital survey phase using GPS receivers and outdoor navigation apps. The second phase would create a web platform with a system of virtual itineraries between villages, named “The Golden Leaves Paths”. After that, the last phase concerns the creation of analysis factsheets to guide the maintenance of paths and the design of iconic signage with artistic illustrations based on the oak leaves leitmotif to be installed along the paths. A local social promotion association will employ the outcomes, technical drawings, and strategies to reactivate paths as an attractive element for nature-oriented tourism and create a digital platform to foster the village’s territorial and cultural heritage.

Promoting leisure functions through setting creative linguistic landscapes in recreational zones

“…Second, related research believed that an avalanche of language signs may brought about confusion for tourists [3]; this study identifies the functional advantages of CLLs, can increase the operator's awareness that which functions should be focused on in setting up CLLs in specific recreational zone, contributes to dealing with the above problem. Third, creativity can generate many benefits [81], but may also have some negative effects, for example, related research mentioned visual pollution caused by creative language signage [45]; Constructively, this study presents a comprehensive overview of the positive and negative functional indicators of CLLs, and developed a framework for functional evaluation; this contributes to helping relevant people gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of CLL functions, and guiding them to optimize the CLL setting.…”

“…More researches have made generative suggestions for the optimal construction of LLs. (1) To coordinate different LLs, the operator should make them similar along the same route to minimize visual pollution from various LL types [45]. Unity, rhythm, scale, color, and visual perception continuity should be considered when designing and setting LLs in recreational zones [31].…”

“…Moreover, some film language is conductive to shape the place image in tourists' mind because their emotional attachment has already been built by the movie plot [32]. Secondly, local culture is an effective resource for designing a CLL, and the landscape in tune with the local culture can convey the local style [42], characterize sightseeing routes, and bring historical culture to life [45]. As important cultural elements, local traditional arts are valued in creating a CLL, and local human stories and the natural history can also be reflected in CLLs [46].…”

Land Use Planning and Green Environment Services: The Contribution of Trail Paths to Sustainable Development

“…Indeed, depopulation has become a significant issue for local culture and built-heritage conservation, making necessary the investigation of nature-oriented tourism and its vital contribution to the economic, social, and revitalization strategies adopted from local communities. In this context it is critical to further investigate how digital tools can be used to map and to create a territorial trail system between municipalities; and, subsequently, to determine the operations necessary for reactivation [91]. In this study a web platform was created with a system of virtual itineraries between villages in Italy, named "The Golden Leaves Paths".…”

“…Then, the creation of analysis factsheets guided the maintenance of paths and the design of iconic signage with artistic illustrations based on the oak leaves leitmotif to be installed along the paths. It was argued that a local social promotion association can employ the outcomes, technical drawings, and strategies to reactivate paths, being considered as an inseparable element for nature-oriented tourism to foster the territorial and cultural heritage of the villages through the digital platform developed [91].…”