The Integrated Design Approach for Cultural Heritage and Landscape in the Territories of Southern Italy: Significant Experiences for Possible Applications in Calabria

This contribution investigates the evolution of the themes of cultural heritage and landscape in the development of integrated territorial projects in Mezzogiorno in relation to the Calabrian territory. While cultural heritage, especially for proposals aimed at the development of tourist attractiveness, has always been present in integrated planning in its various declinations, only recently has a progressive awareness of the value that landscape quality can play in the environmental, social and productive regeneration processes of territories been consolidated. On the other hand, while culturally based planning strategies have often generated episodic successes without building a unitary and strategic vision for the territory and affecting the effectiveness of development policies, it is possible to trace, in Southern Italy, some recent experiences considered exemplary in the application of integrated territorial planning principles to landscape issues. The purpose of this contribution is to verify whether integrated territorial planning can represent an effective operational modality to intervene in the processes of promotion of the material and immaterial heritage and regeneration of the landscapes of Southern Italy, and of Calabria in particular, as a tool that could further foster the convergence among the different entities acting on a territory, among the different funding sources, among the multiple interests and multiple aspirations of local communities.