Historical Centres, Protected Natural Areas, Communities and Sustainable Development: A Possible Balance

Abstract

The paper illustrates how the recovery and valorisation of protected natural areas can constitute, for the local communities of small inland areas in Italy, a flywheel of sustainable development with beneficial effects for the entire ‘country system’. Through a SWOT analysis and having selected the indicators for the chosen territory, which is the Roccamonfina Volcanic Area and Garigliano Mouth Regional Natural Park in the Campania Region, the characteristics of the area were highlighted as well as all the municipalities that contribute to defining the park area. The methodology adopted was chosen to identify a sample area whose peculiarities are applied and scalable to other contexts with similar conditions. The paper aims to contribute to the debate on the valorisation of protected areas in Southern Italy to promote the enhancement of production potential in sectors such as enhancing ecological quality, agricultural supply chains and projects linked to tourism sustainability. Promoting the role of agriculture, through the valorisation of quality agricultural supply chains and projects linked to tourism sustainability, can contribute to the economic development of Italy’s inland areas. The authors believe that the sustainable development of southern Italy’s protected areas can take place in territories with a characteristic identity based on environmental quality, territorial cohesion and the recovery of food habits. In the absence of adequate solutions, the protected natural areas and the communities that inhabit them risk deterioration, with the consequent loss of identities—cultural, historical, territorial—that must instead be preserved, handed down and enhanced.