Social Sciences and Humanities (SH)

Interreg Italia-Francia Marittimo – “CASTOUR” – Valorizzazione della castagna attraverso itinerari naturali e culturali sostenibili

31 August 2025 by

Project data

Funding Entity: European Commission

Call: INTERREG IT-FR – 1 Avviso

Coordinator: Province of Lucca (Italy)

UNISI Principal Investigator: Prof. Silvia Calamai

Department: Department of Philology and Criticism of Ancient and Modern Literatures (DFCLAM)

Start date: 1 March 2024

End date: 28 February 2027

 

Description

The project was created in response to the complex challenges of cross-border territories where often underestimated chestnut forests do not fully exploit the richness of their landscape and cultural heritage. This situation also affects the local economic fabric, mainly composed of micro-enterprises and small associations, making communities vulnerable, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
CASTOUR aims to promote “slow” tourism, diversified and seasonally independent, accessible to both local and international visitors, enhancing the tangible and intangible cultural heritage offered by popular wisdom, local producers, and natural resources.
The project is aimed at local communities, small businesses, and economic development actors, highlighting the heritage linked to chestnut cultivation and strengthening the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of chestnut groves.

Objectives

The project aims to develop emerging and sustainable tourism in a cross-border context by enhancing environmental trails and the tangible and intangible cultural heritage linked to chestnut cultivation.
More specifically, this project supports actions aimed at:

  • Promoting, through a coordinated and joint effort, the creation of a cross-border itinerary to enrich and enhance the environmental and cultural heritage of the territory linked to chestnut cultivation in order to boost tourism flow;
  • Improving the usability of a sustainable tourism offer represented by small businesses and associations linked to chestnut cultivation and its products, also through the preparation and improvement of tangible and digital infrastructures;
  • Making the itinerary as accessible and inclusive as possible by using innovative digital tools in terms of content and design, as they are also aimed at users with motor, visual, and hearing disabilities.

 

 

Project website: https://interreg-marittimo.eu/web/castour/progetto

 

Disclaimer: This project has been funded under Interreg Italia-Francia Marittimo N°IF marittimo 00004