Slow tourism weaves crafts and tells the story of the identity of the territories

The contribution aims to analyze the contribution that design can give to the promotion of territorial identities related to the current theme of slow tourism. Italy, in fact, in addition to the great routes that every year register thousands of tourists, boasts a large network of minor itineraries that cross almost unknown territories and embrace semi-forgotten traditions and crafts. These are unique realities, not contaminated by tourism, imbued with a cultural heritage ready to be discovered and enhanced. In this panorama, designers play a role of fundamental importance for the creation of new opportunities aimed at enhancing the stories, traditions and areas by creating concrete opportunities and experiences aimed at changing user behavior. Stefano Follesa in his text “Design & identity. Designing for places” hopes for the development of a strategy focused on returning to places and promoting all those differences that represent an element of recognition for our country worldwide. To make this happen it is attractive to invest in the cultural and artistic background which often appears hidden and difficult to grasp, but which has a lot to tell and allows the development of new languages and expressions of doing. In the final part of the content, some strategic lines are outlined in terms of design and enhancement, aimed at meeting today’s challenges through the creation of collaborative and strategic networks between institutions, designers and territorial realities.