I borghi che si svuotano e il turismo lento
Depopulating villages and slow tourism
Irene Pellegrini
Transcript
In Italy there are thousands of villages that risk disappearing.
The phenomenon is called depopulation and it affects the South above all.
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Many young people leave their towns in search of work and opportunities.
Often only the elderly remain, with empty houses and silent churches.
Yet something is changing in recent years.
Some villages have bet on so-called slow tourism.
The idea is simple: to offer visitors an authentic and unhurried experience.
No organised coach tours, no selfies and move on.
You walk, eat with locals, and sleep in small farm stays.
In Basilicata, for example, some municipalities sell houses for one euro.
The condition is that the new owner renovates it and goes to live there.
These initiatives have attracted foreigners from all over the world.
Some critics fear, however, that these villages may become open-air museums.
The real challenge is to find a balance between tourism and real life.
Because a village is only alive if there are people who truly live there.
Slow tourism can be a part of the solution, not all of it.