Integrated valorization of cultural heritage: A case study of the Cammino Dei Monaci route

The convergence between the concept of sustainable development and the theoretical framework of cultural-heritage preservation underlines some key issues: the tangible and intangible nature of benefits associated with cultural capital; intergenerational equity meant as the fair distribution of wealth, utility and resources among generations, in addition to the intra-generational one; the precautionary principle; and the multidimensionality of cultural heritage. As public goods, non-rival and non-exclusive, cultural resources are characterized by the presence of various categories of value that contribute to determining the Total Economic Value (V.E.T.). Given the risk of being under-supplied in the economy if these kind of goods are disregarded from appraisals, specific evaluation methodologies have been introduced with the aim of assigning a monetary value. In this context, the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) has been applied to estimate the economic benefits generated by the realization of a bicycle and pedestrian trail, considered as a non-marketed and complex good for the wide, and sometimes divergent, range of interests and values (economic, aesthetic, cultural, educational, political) attached to them. Consistently with the guidelines provided by the NOOA Panel, the CVM survey has been developed by the use of the Double Bounded Dichotomous model. In the absence of market prices that express the value of the benefits generated by this slow mobility project, respondents have shown a propensity for the implementation of the hypothetical scenario under valuation, thus demonstrating great awareness of the overall benefits associated with the project.