ABSTRACT
The Cultural Districts project was developed over the 2005–2010 period by the Cariplo Foundation to support the enhancement of cultural heritage as a flywheel for economic growth and social promotion of territories through the promotion of the integrated development process of cultural heritage. Following the guidelines issued by Cariplo Foundation, a number of specific communities in Lombardy worked to build a Cultural District in their territory. The project of Valtellina Cultural District was deemed worthy of being funded and so the District was established in 2010. The aims of the project involve cultural landscape, heritage, awareness of local community, strategical development forecast and creation of tangible or intangible networks. To pursue these goals, the district has developed specific work packages aimed at restoring heritage buildings, Preventive Planned Conservation, skills/capacity enhancement, community involvement and valorisation. The case history is discussed through the analysis of the partnership and of the methods with which the partners have agreed upon the idea that cultural heritage is a resource for sustainable development of their territory. For this purpose examples of relevant activities are presented, such as “The Route of Terraces”, that is one of the District’s most suitable work packages for creating networks and stimulating the link between local population and cultural landscape. The awareness of the extent of the resources of the territory generated by the Cultural District led to the evolution of the project in an EU cross-border cooperation process that takes advantage of the historical connections (both cultural and administrative) between Valtellina and Canton Graubünden in Switzerland. This also allowed for the extension of the partnership through the involvement of new partners coming from the nearby Swiss territory. The analysis is aimed at underlining strengths and opportunities provided to the territory and weaknesses and threats inherent to the development process, but also to point out the outcomes of the project.
