Turismo di mezzo. Una nuova idea dell’abitare lungo la Costiera dei Cech in Valtellina

The essay "Intermediate Tourism” develops, starting from the title itself, a reflection on hybrid mountain places, contemporary in their impact on the communities inhabiting them. The “Costiera dei Cech” in Valtellina is an exemplary case of a "in between" territory, both spatially and in terms of the socioeconomic dynamics. Here, overtourism and abandonment are not opposing phenomena but rather overlap to define a scenario of a mountain landscape in transformation, as explored by Varotto, Magris and Dematteis, among others. The aim is to interpretate the places by proposing a regenerative horizon which can arise from a new concept of living in fragile conditions that, because of the status, are capable of triggering trans-scale transformations. To investigate this dimension, the essay debates on the project "CECH IN: integration, inclusion, innovation," a research-by-design carried out as part of the Recovery EU Tourism and Culture Mission (Attractiveness of historic villages). The experience is presented through a sequence of 3 different "acts." First, the territory is seen with a double "corbozian" gaze to construct the scenario. Then, a map of "intermediate living” is defined with sequences of emblematic landscapes. Finally, some "construction sites" are launched, incremental projects based on an integrated structure of connections, intervals and thresholds. The regeneration of these places links to the initial challenge, as they serve as active markers for a new "intermediate tourism".