New perspectives on the role of cultural and environmental assets in the territorial socio-economic development processes. The Gargano National Park area

The present research aims to better understand the role of Cultural and Environmental Assets (CEAs) in the processes of socio-economic development of marginalised areas. The theoretical analysis starts from a brief review of the literature. Secondly, the research focuses on a particular marginalised area of the region of Puglia (South of Italy), namely the Gargano area, which is rich in natural resources and cultural traditions. Thirdly, reference is made to the latest technological perspectives in the field of the protection and promotion of CEAs. One of the major gaps of the current literature is the lack of models for development and management of CEAs providing an effective network between public and private systems based on a common regulation to all members of a territory. Also, a lack of geo- referencing by means of a Geographic Information System (GIS) on local scale with information widely shared by local actors is also present. To contribute to close the above gaps, the present study reflects on the criteria established for achieving the status of "integrated" cultural goods, and assesses how and which assets may be geo-referenced. The analysis of the state of the art highlights the need of ad-hoc policies for the implementation of geo-referencing systems as means to strengthen actual regulations that take into account development opportunities as well as more inclusive parameters adapted to the environmental context, and in line with the 2030 Agenda (UN), the Next Generation EU (NGEU) and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).