Saperi delle montagne. Le guide storiche e il patrimonio del territorio

As part of a wider research project on the cultural heritage of Italian mountain territories, the essay is focused on a set of guidebooks published between the beginnings of alpine tourism in the mid-nineteenth century and the great transformations of the mid-twentieth century. The study of such corpus has produced a rich amount of information, which in the past encouraged forms of sustainable and virtuous tourism. In the present, that knowledge can support tour operators in developing new itineraries and proposals as well as already existing ones, integrating natural dimension with historical and cultural heritage in new forms of experience-based tourism. Critically examined, the information extracted from the guidebooks’ systematic examination has been integrated into a georeferenced database, a useful tool addressing a multiplicity of users, from scholars to various subjects involved in the valorization of the territory, from local agencies and tourism promoters to the larger public of tourists.