Le tourisme culinaire, la plus récente récolte des fermes et pâturages du sud de l'Italie: éliminant l'amertume de cette nouvelle économie prometteuse

Abstract

Food tourism offers important opportunities for southern Italian communities struggling with high unemployment and the erosion of food traditions. These foodways are at once threatened in a modern reality and desirable to tourists looking to connect with local food and its producers as part of an “authentic” travel experience. For this new economy to be sustainable, both economically and culturally in southern Italy, there are lessons to be learned from Tuscany’s embrace of agriculturally-based tourism, where the power of tourism has crafted romantic narratives of the Mediterranean Diet and La Dolce Vita that are often more meaningful to the paying customer than rural residents. Data collected in the regions of Puglia and Campania since 2014 are presented here to explore how best to validate food traditions through tourism. Examples of food and heritage tourism, including lemon garden tours, the historic role of nuns in pastry making, and shepherding traditions of the Murgia Plateau, highlight the potential benefits and vulnerabilities of tourism-based revitalization initiatives.