A network of slow routes between Italian UNESCO sites. A territorial strategy to enhance the in-between territories and the inner areas

The current paper aims at investigating how a network of slow routes, connecting UNESCO sites, could represent a strategy to enhance the in-between territories and inner areas. Italy counts the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites, integrated in rich and varied landscapes. Most of the times, the UNESCO recognition has a positive influence on the sites, preserving and enhancing their natural and cultural values; nevertheless, there is a risk that the attractiveness of each monumental site can also produce negative impacts. Therefore, a broader territorial strategy should be developed to promote a network of slow routes, to improve connections between the sites, and, at the same time, to revitalize the in-between places where spatial, environmental and cultural assets of great value are also present. In this sense, the territorial strategy allows to move the focus from the points (UNESCO sites) to the landscape, enlarging the vision on the whole territory. In this research four different itineraries in Italy have been mapped (north, center, south), with the aim to connect UNESCO sites, but also to include National Parks and other protected areas, minor historic settlements and cultural heritage. The strategy also considers accessibility and mobility issues, by integrating the existing infrastructural network, such as railways and highways, improving intermodality in the nodes (stations and service areas), with specific care to the UN goals of Sustainable Development (SDG 3, 9 and 11). A specific territorial analysis will focus on the study case of the route in the central Italy, from Ravenna to Cerveteri, passing through Faenza, Firenze, Arezzo, Pienza and Viterbo, that shows how this strategy could work.