Beyond Economic Indicators Rural landscapes as heritage: community-centred preservation and management methodologies towards sustainability inclusive perspectives

Rural landscapes as heritage might represent an ideal “demonstration laboratory” to monitor the progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, being a complex system encompassing the different dimensions of heritage. In this context, the research considers actions to support social inclusion and sustainable development in Italian sites listed in the National Register of Historical Rural Landscapes and set in the so-called Inner areas, through a systematization and a cross analysis of the available information as expressed by projects and strategies in the Italian context. In analysing a peculiar case study of rural landscape as heritage in Italy, the paper outlines the main critical aspects in achieving sustainability in a broader perspective, setting the importance of communities’ well-being to foster preservation and development. In conclusion, the contribution proposes some first considerations on complementary indicators and actions that might be addressed to facilitate monitoring processes in the context of rural landscapes heritage sites