Cultural Heritage and Tourism as Experienced through mantua's Cultural Districts

The role of cultural assets in stimulating tourism seems obvious, but is difficult to assess because of the large number and diversity of the activities comprised in the “culture” phenomenon and the lack of adapted tools. This paper is meant to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between cultural heritage and tourism and to the advancement of a relatively new sustainable development model. The authors are investigating the concept and functioning of the Italian cultural districts, from a broader international perspective while recalling the outputs of various experiences and studies conducted in this field by Politecnico di Milano. The general background is given by the economic and social mutations from the last decades. Two case studies are analysed in particular, namely il Distretto Culturale dell’Oltrepò Mantovano and il Distretto culturale “Le Regge dei Gonzaga”. These examples have been chosen in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this development model for territories with outstanding cultural values as well as for the ones with only minor heritage, applied either top-down or bottom-up. Thus, the Italian cultural district is distinguishing itself as a mechanism to promote economic growth based on the local resources while increasing their weighting, in a variety of situations.