Cultural Inland Design. Products and services for territorial and people enhancement

Ecosystem provides unique support to quality of life and economic development (Scolozzi et al., 2012). Mountain animal husbandry, thanks to alpine pasture, performs important functions of conservation of biodiversity, enjoyment and preservation of areas differently addressed to become wild forest, in addition to guaranteeing the production of high-quality goods. Preservation and enhancement of inland, by sustaining rare community custodians, are key elements that must be supported. A goal that could be pursued by developing innovative actions capable of generating a high value with regard to commodities, culture, and tourism. From 2019, the design research team of our University is part of three research projects within European programs (2014-2020 Interregional Italy-France Alcotra program) aimed at the promotion of (economic) communicative strategies for enhancing typical products, production sites and itineraries linked to high-quality mountain markets. Values that COVID-19 brought to the fore even further and are currently priorities for people’s wellness. In this context, as far as the Ligurian inland is concerned, the paper aims to highlight methods, strategies and products elaborated thanks to our design-driven approach. The objectives are to enhance production chains and reinterpret the “slow tourism of proximity” principles during and after the pandemic, and, lastly, to spread a new culture able to recognize and appreciate the biodiversity produced by the synergy between community, territory and livestock.