Ancient Mining Paths and Slow Tourism. Assessments and Challenges in Sardinia (Italy)

Slow tourism is a sustainable way of traveling: it is not based on the consumption of resources and at the same time is linked to the discovery of local places and traditions. This kind of tourism, which favors a harmonious and responsible development of the territory, is spreading more and more in Italy as a form that best responds to the new restrictions and needs related to the health emergency. More precisely, paths have become one of the most successful and appreciated declinations of slow tourism. A comprehensive strategy has been defined by the Region of Sardinia aimed at diversifying the tourist offer where the paths are becoming an integral part of the island’s tourism product portfolio, together with other types of tourism related to culture, sport, food, nature. Within this scenario, this paper investigates the role of the paths in the tourist development of the Sardinia Region. It takes the Sulcis Iglesiente area as a research area. Here, the establishment of the Santa Barbara Mining Path (SBP), in a sensitive area marked by intense mining activity, offers the opportunity to set up an initial assessment of the effects of these initiatives in terms of enhancing the landscape and developing the communities settled. The authors analyze and highlight some of the principles potentially replicable to implement a structured walkability strategy at the regional level. Within this framework, the authors define a methodology to compare, by specific index proposal, the new concepts of SBPs with the first SBP realized in Sardinia.