Manuel Vaquero Piñeiro was awarded a Ph.D. in Modern and Contemporary History by the University of Cantabria (Spain); since 2006, he is a professor of economic history at the University of Perugia, Italy (manuel.vaqueropineiro@unipg.it). In 2010, he received the international award, Daria Borghese, for studies on the history of the Renaissance in Rome. Among his main research interests includes the socioeconomic transformation of agriculture.
This chapter analyses the development of rural tourism in Italy over the recent decades. Since the end of the twentieth century, also due to the crisis of industrialization and the exhaustion of the factory work model, interest in “returning to the countryside” has grown. The spreading of new social and cultural trends, more sensitive to the issues of sustainability and preservation of natural wealth, has encouraged in Italy, the country of art and the beautiful landscape, a sudden increase in new tourism initiatives that are environmental friendly and revolving around quality food and wine. The “Roads of flavours” and numerous associations of small towns have therefore been created, to enhance the Italian artistic and architectural heritage. In particular, interest in Mediterranean diet has increased, as shown by the growth in tourism linked to oil. There is no lack of compatibility problems as well as difficulties in devising new cohabitation formulas, but as this work demonstrates, after the boom of the “sun and beach” tourism of the 1960s, today a far more diversified tourist panorama has emerged, thus allowing the rural world to benefit from a renewed momentum.
Part of the book: Sustainability Assessment at the 21st century
This chapter investigates the complex relationship between socio-economic development and environmental sustainability by focusing on one of the most vital natural phenomena: the water cycle. Considering the current public awareness of climate change and the growing number of natural disasters, focusing on this topic provides a better understanding of weaknesses and bottlenecks that 21st-century society faces daily. This work presents three case studies, different from each other but conceptually interconnected. The first case concerns the situation of lakes in the world, whose water in many cases is at risk of disappearing. In the second instance, we present the growing socio-economic risks generated by floods. Nowadays, floods play a fundamental role in influencing socio-economic development due to the dislocation of economic activities in Southeast Asian countries. Finally, we discuss desertification affecting large areas of the African continent. One aspect of great interest is the Grande Muraille Verte project promoted by numerous countries. Reforestation of large arid areas is the main issue; the attempt is to support local communities to implement agricultural and livestock activities. Socio-economic and environmental sustainability and resilience are the main challenges that countries, regions and local communities are facing.
Part of the book: Rural Development