Geomorphosites and Geotourism in the Parks of the Abruzzo Region (Central Italy)

Abstract

The geomorphologic landscape of the Abruzzo region is a good example of the variety and complexity of processes and morphogenetic events in Italy. Complex Meso-Cenozoic palaeogeographies are still reflected by the main mountain chains of Abruzzo and enable both scientists and tourists to make imaginary journeys through ancient, long vanished, coral atolls and blue deep seas. Valleys of glacial origin, alluvial cones, actual soils and palaeosoils still preserve the memory of these 'by-goneworlds', with unique geomorphosites scattered throughout the region. The educational enhancement of geomorphological themes has been pursued in Abruzzo, known as the 'region of parks' par excellence and a 'green lung' of Europe, with the creation and placement of information panels and theme trails. Within this framework, in this paper we report on the methods, initiatives and activities that have been undertaken for the enhancement of the geological landscape and geomorphosites, mainly through geological trails and geological information panels but also by contributing to the identification of possible new geomorphosites. Geological trails and information panels are mostly based on different types of tools, such as threedimensional (3D) reconstructions, aimed at providing a 3D perception of geologic processes and elements, landform highlights, aimed at increasing the perception and identification of landforms and processes as well as their impact on the landscape, and palaeo-geographic reconstructions and cartoons, aimed at presenting the evidence of landscape evolution.

Geotourism: A Systematic Literature Review

“…In the papers which focus on geoparks and other geotourism and geoconservation initiatives (15 papers in total) the role of geoparks in the promotion of geotourism [56], representation of geodiversity [57] and geologic time [58] as well as their contribution to socio-economic rural development [59] are investigated, and examples of geopark development based on the type of geoheritage present in the area are presented [60][61][62]. Geotourism initiatives implemented outside the geoparks are also investigated [63,64]. The study conducted by Gladfelter and Mason [65] in Yosemite National Park concluded that although geotourism projects have the potential to influence visitor patterns and congestion problems in popular national parks and can make a positive contribution to the involvement of stakeholders, they may also increase environmental impacts.…”

The “Fan of the Terre Peligne”: Integrated Enhancement and Valorization of the Archeological and Geological Heritage of an Inner-Mountain Area (Abruzzo, Central Apennines, Italy)

“…The selection of the path and the main stop sites was qualitatively based on three main criteria similar for archeology and geology: (i) location and spatial connection along the Terre Peligne area; (ii) site type and origin, and (iii) temporal distribution in the geological/archeological time scale [28,[40][41][42]. Even if at this stage we did not run a quantitative assessment of the sites [20], this approach is in agreement with what has been done in many cases for geosites evaluation (e.g., within Environmental Impact Assessment and territorial planning [11,12,43]; inventories of natural heritage sites, [31,35,40,44]; tourist promotion [14,45]; management of nature parks [4,6,22,46,47]).…”

“…The cultural heritage of Italy is one of the most noticeable in the world and is intimately related to the landscape and its long-lasting history. This is valued mainly in the major cities, popular localities, and national parks [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8], while it is poorly developed in many minor villages, country areas, local natural reserves, and less-known areas, such as in the inner-mountain areas of the Apennines. However, there are many places, archeological sites, and landscapes that preserve the geological history of our country, as well as important stages of human history [9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

“…Concerning the archeological aspects, several sites have been investigated as places keeping evidence of human activities in different historical periods. For geological and geomorphological aspects, geosites and geomorphosites have been identified, as areas with specific characteristics that have acquired a scientific value [4,36].…”

Geological tourist mapping of the Mount Serrone fault Geosite (Gioia dei Marsi, Central Apennines, Italy)

“…However, its roots lie in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Hose, 2016). The main focuses and goals of geotourism are (Panizza & Piacente, 1993;Reynard & Coratza, 2007;Coratza & Regolini-Bissig, 2009;Miccadei, Piacentini, & Esposito, 2011;Hose, 2016;Reynard & Brilha, 2017):…”