Agritourism and slow lines: hybrid practices for a landscape design model to support agriculture in mountain regions. Vermont as read from an Italian perspective

Abstract

The recent pandemic has brought mountain areas back to the centre of many political and academic debates. Amid the increasing desertification of these areas, the need to protect the cultural and natural heritage has become an emergency. In this perspective, the growing social sensitivity towards mountain areas can contribute to a new landscape design model capable of being the driving force for sustainable development. A combination of agritourism and slow tourism can serve as an opportunity to support the rural economy of mountain areas. To explore this possibility, the case of Vermont (USA) is analysed by exploring some specific practices that lead to concrete reflections on new landscape synergies.
 In the light of the great debate underway, there are the premises beacause mountains returns to the center of citizens and politics choices, not to be appendages to cities but places rich in resources to be valued in all their authenticity.
 In this perspective, the growing social sensitivity towards mountain areas can contribute to tourism capable of being the driving force for low-impact development of territory. We are talking about a tourism that allows the tourist to appreciate landscape and cultural resources and the local communities to activate micro-economies that make it possible to stabilize the social roots in territories that have long been subject to depopulation. This means a tourism which, avoiding the romantic rhetoric of mountain places, proposes concrete actions that fall within a clear planning framework oriented towards resource-based development. The combination of mountain agriculture and slow tourism on the line (trails, paths and cycle paths) can be an opportunity not only to support the rural economy of the mountain areas, but also to provide a physical infrastructure for the territorial protection of the farm landscape. To explore this possibility, the case of the state of Vermont (USA) is analyzed, where it has been possible to make marginality a strong point. By comparing Vermont with some Italian mountainous regions and exploring some specific practices and their impact on the territory, it will be possible to identify some scenarios and perspectives useful for a common policy for supporting mountain agriculture.