Geotourism: some examples in Northern-Central Italy

Italy is a country with a rich natural heritage that is having difficulty in finding the right areas for acquiring knowledge, protection and improvement. In particular, the geological component of the landscape has not yet acquired a sufficient value as a cultural asset which people can learn about and share. Within the Italian territory geotourism activities and products are recently widespread and, in this paper, some examples of activities carried out in the Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Abruzzo regions (northern-central Italy) are illustrated. They show different possible approach to the realization of geotourism maps, geological itineraries, portable and on site illustrative materials, web based projects, geosites analysis. These activities are targeted at various potential users, tourists, local residents, young people, schools etc., and are aimed at the enhancement of geological and geomorphological aspects of the natural heritage making it available to the public.