The pilot area

"The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy"

Italian villages constitute a precious treasure of history, nature, culture and art, embodying the authenticity and beauty of Italy. They are small inhabited jewels that hold a rich heritage of traditions, unique and impossible to replicate elsewhere, made up of history, scenic beauty, artistic treasures and constitute the true wealth of our country.

The Association "The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy" was founded in 2022 with the aim of enhancing the great heritage present in Italy's smaller towns, combining protection with the need to support sustainable, economic and social development. In 2023, the list of “the Most Beautiful Villages of Italy" came to include 360 localities, distributed in all regions of the country, although the territorial arrangement shows a significant concentration especially in the regions of the Center, representing 32.2 percent of the total (Figure 1).

The complete list of boroughs, region by region, is available at this web address: https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/

However, theese villages are characterized by a rather small average population and a more pronounced rate of depopulation than the national average, which, according to studies, will be expected to increase in the 2020s and 2030s. This information concerns  343 villages that were part of the list of "Italy's Most Beautiful Villages" at the beginning of 2023 and for which ISTAT population forecasts are available until 2030. In 2021, in fact, the average population of Italy's Most Beautiful Villages was calculated to be about 4,000, a number that corresponds to about half of the average population of Italian municipalities, estimated at around 7,500 (Figure 2).

Figure 1- Villages in italy (Deloitte analysis)

Figure 2- Percentage change in resident population (Deloitte analysis)

The economic impact of tourism on employment in the Villages

In relation to the studies regarding the economic impact generated by tourism in these places, in 2022 the total number of visitors to the Villages, including Italians and foreigners, daily and overnight visitors in accommodations, was found to be more than 8.8 million, generating a total of about 21.5 million overnight stays (Figure 3). Of this total, nearly 46 percent of the total visitors to the Villages were from international backgrounds, while about 54 percent corresponded to domestic day visitors (Figure 4).

Most visitors to the villages are mainly concentrated in the regions of Central and Northern Italy, with strong attendance in Tuscany, Liguria and Lombardy (Figure 5): particularly in Northeast Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto), where the highest average number of visitors per borgo is observed (Figure 6).

Data reported that the regions with the highest percentage of international visitors to the Villages are those in the North and Islands, particularly Lombardy, Veneto, Sicily, Valle d'Aosta, Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige and Sardinia (Figure 7), while the regions with the highest average stay of visitors in the Villages are mainly found in the Central and Northeast areas, with particular emphasis on Marche, Veneto, Tuscany and Trentino-Alto Adige (Figure 8).

Considering also intermediate consumption, tourism set up by theese villages is estimated to contribute approximately 5 billion euros to Italy's GDP in 2022 and to generate employment for about 91,400 people in Italy (Figure 9).

Direct spending in Italy attributable to tourism generated by the villages in 2022 is approximately 4.6 billion euros. This direct spending generates an additional 9 billion euros of indirect and induced spending. Overall, therefore, about 13.8 billion euros of total spending is considered to have been generated in Italy.

It is important to note that spending is a measure of gross volume and not added value, as in GDP. Offsetting intermediate consumption provides an estimate of the contribution to GDP, which is around 5 billion euros.

- Every euro spent on tourism generated by the Villages appears to generate a total of 1.1 euros of GDP in the country;

- For every euro of direct impact, an additional 1.2 euros is estimated to be generated in indirect and induced terms.

The sectors that receive the greatest benefits from contributing to GDP are accommodation, catering, trade and transportation, areas that collectively benefit from 60 percent of the total impact (Figure 10 - Figure 11).

- Accommodation and catering (1.6 billion euros, about 32 percent of the total);

- Trade (771 million euros, about 15 percent of the total);

- Transportation (638 million euros, about 13 percent of the total).

The economic impact generated by tourism induced by the Boroughs in 2022 thus corresponds to about 0.3 percent of Italian GDP, while it accounts for about 7.1 percent of GDP in the arts and entertainment sector and 7.6 percent of GDP in the I&C (Information and Communication) sector in Italy.

In absolute terms, the largest contribution to GDP appears to be produced mainly in the Central and Northeast regions (Figure 12).

Even if we consider the economic impact generated by Borough-induced tourism in 2022 as a percentage of GDP, this is estimated to be greatest in the Central and Northeast regions (Figure 13).

Also to be included in the list of the most beautiful villages in Italy are two municipalities that are part of the “Unione Terre dell'Ufita”, which includes in its total the following eight localities: Bonito, Flumeri, Frigento, Gesualdo, Grottaminarda, Melito Irpino, Sturno, Villamaina.

Figure 3- Visitors 2022 (Deloitte analysis from ISTAT data)

Figure 4- Estimated tourism in the Villages (Deloitte analysis)

Figure 5 - Visitors to the Villages in Italian regions 2022 (Deloitte analysis from ISTAT data)

Figure 6 - Visitors per village in Italian regions 2022 (Deloitte analysis)

Figure 7 - Percentage of international visitors to Villages in Italian regions 2022 (Deloitte analysis from ISTAT data)

Figure 8 - Average stay in the Villages in Italian regions 2022 (Deloitte analysis from ISTAT data)

Figure 9 - Contribution to GDP in Italy 2022 (Deloitte analysis)

Figure 10 - Contribution to direct, indirect and induced GDP by sector 2022 (Deloitte analysis)

Figure 11 - Supported employment in Italy FTE, 2022 (Deloitte analysis)

Figure 12 - Contribution to GDP in Italian regions 2022 (Deloitte analysis)

Figure 13 - Percentage contribution to GDP in Italian regions 2022 (Deloitte analysis)

"The most beautiful villages" of Valle d’Ufita

Frigento:

INHABITANTS: 3480 (400 in the village)

PLACES OF INTEREST:

Church of Santa Maria Assunta in cielo: episcopal seat from the 4th century to 1818, the cathedral is the landmark building of Frigento. After the earthquakes in 1694 and 1732, the structure was rebuilt in its present conformation, a Latin cross with three naves.

Baroque-style elements stand out, such as the high altar and the polychrome marble balustrade, while in the nave and transept there are two paintings (Assumption of the Virgin and Miracle of St. Marciano), both made in the 18th century by Antonio Vecchione da Nola, a pupil of Solimena.

Early Christian and Romanesque elements emerge in the crypt, evidence of the antiquity of the place of worship (Figure 14).

Figure 14- Church of Santa Maria Assunta in cielo, front side

Figure 15 - Roman cisterns

Urban Park and “Limiti” Overview: overlooking the surrounding valleys, the Limiti Overview surrounds the historic center of the town, offering a striking and elevated view of the surrounding landscape.  The road, about 500 meters long and largely pedestrian-only, allows you to get a view of five regions (Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, Molise, Abruzzo) thanks to the three loggias propping up its path.

Along a path shaded by century-old maples and plane trees, the gaze reaches the Maiella massif. The entire wooded area that slopes down from the overview represents the perimeter of the Urban Park of Regional Interest "Panorami di Frigento" established by the Campania Region in 2006: known for its biodiversity, the park has a large number of trekking trails that are now a strong attraction for lovers of sustainable tourism (Figure 16).

Figure 16- Limiti overview

FRIMACT- Civic Archaeological Museum of Civilization and Territory: the civic museum, which takes place in the historic Palazzo De Leo, houses an archaeological and a contemporary art section.

The archaeological collection "Tales of grain in the wind", opened in 2015, traces the historical events related to when the Irpinian center became municipium duovirale. The exhibits, mainly epigraphs and tombstones, highlight the agricultural vocation of the place.

The "Pina Famiglietti" collection, on the other hand, is a private collection donated by Angelo Gabbanini in 2011 in memory of his wife: the nucleus, which has expanded over the years, includes more than a hundred works by Italian and international artists created with different techniques (woodcut, aquatint, etching).

For the creation of the corpus of artworks, master printer Gabbanini drew on the extremely rich archive of the family print shop: an Urbino native, he worked for many years at his own art print shop in Rome with his trusty wife by his side and collaborated with major Italian and international artists of the last century. The collection thus constitutes a journey through the artists who expressed themselves by benefiting from his craftsmanship (Figure 17).

Figure 17- Civic Archaeological Museum of Civilization and Territory.

Gesualdo:

INHABITANTS: 3446

Gesualdo Castle: A Lombard fief until the Lombard conquest, Gesualdo is situated on a rise overlooking two valleys, the Fredane valley to the south and the Ufita valley to the north. The first record of the imposing castle, symbol of the place, comes in 1137 from Pietro Diacono when the dynasty of the Lombard knight who owned these lands had died out. However, the history of the building is linked above all to the figure of Carlo Gesualdo. Born in Venosa in 1566 and raised in the Neapolitan court, he took refuge in the Irpinian manor after killing his wife Maria d'Avalos having discovered her betrayal. In the isolation of the village, the prince cultivated an interest in music becoming an important composer of the late Renaissance and being remembered above all for his highly expressive and original madrigals.

The town today has the typical shape of concentric circles developed around the fortress with alleys leading to terraces open to the valley. South of the castle are still preserved seventeenth-century mansions such as Palazzi Mattioli and Pisapia, renovated after the 1980 earthquake and now owned by the municipality (Figure 18).

Figure 18- Gesualdo Castle

The limits of web communication of the Ufita sites and the demographic and receptivity analysis of the area

As a result of a survey carried out to analyze the degree of information transmitted by the "Sistema Irpinia" website, a number of limits, common to the reality of digital communication in the local area, were found; the analysis of these data can help to improve the quality of the material on the web and implement them with new and more updated information.

The first limitation found is the absence of a specific and autonomous web page belonging to the cultural site (churches, museums, archaeological sites).

This would be essential in order to provide clear information of accessibility (opening hours or its variations, logistical directions), prices, contacts. It is noted, however, that these data, in most cases not updated on time, are conveyed by the page of the municipality to which they belong, which, in fact, is often incomplete or reports unreliable and insufficiently detailed information.

Where websites of cultural sites have been created, they are very often lacking in information or even unusable due to outdated infrastructure. These data sensitively impacts the tourism of these cultural realities by providing both a partial picture of the potential of the place and by suggesting the idea of unreliability, depowering the relevance of the sites of interest in question.

The data that are most often absent are, trivially, those related to the accessibility of the places such as opening hours, information on how to get there, or descriptive details related to the collections on the cultural site and, again, the absence of an up-to-date gallery of images representative of the place and its heritage.

In addition, bilingualism today is essential to ensure the growth and updating of a web page: its absence in many web pages undoubtedly causes a narrowing of the field of possible visitors from international backgrounds.

As a result of these considerations, research was conducted on the type of tourism and receptivity of places in the Ufita Valley in order to better understand their current trends and potential growth.

The research was developed on two fronts: on the one hand, through semi-structured interviews with local actors and stakeholders, in order to identify and outline the main challenges related to the tourism of the area; on the other, through questionnaires submitted to generic visitors to the Ufita Valley, with the aim of profiling tourists.

In 2022, the entire province of Avellino recorded 233 thousand tourist presences, predominantly Italian (80 percent of cases).

Based on these data, it was possible to deepen the research, outlining the profile of visitors in order to identify their specific characteristics.

The sample, of more than 200 people interviewed during this survey, revealed that:

- Average age: 48 years

- 20% residents (AV)

- 34% other provinces of Campania

- 38% other Italian regions

- 8% foreigners

- Average overnight stay: ½ nights

- Most visited places in the area: Gesualdo, Grottaminarda, Frigento.

The initial evidence from the questionnaires thus brought to light some essential data, such as the predominantly local origin of the flow of tourists, the prevalence of a short stay and the pre-eminence of some towns as the most chosen and visited locations.

Analyzing Istat data also reveals relevant information regarding not only the demographic trends in the area, which are significantly declining, but also regarding the receptivity of local communities.

In fact, it appears evident the demographic decline that the area has been suffering in recent years, the main consequences of which are the emigration of young people, abandonment and loneliness of the elderly, loss of jobs due to the relocation of businesses, the deterioration of buildings, abandonment of land, closure of schools and related services, and the disappearance of local traditions.

It is precisely to address the impact of this phenomenon that the KiNESIS project - Knowledge Alliance for Social Innovation in Shrinking Villages - came into being.

Originated by the initiative of Prof. Johanna Monti of the University of Naples L'Orientale, the project was born with the main objective of creating an alliance of knowledge between universities, NGOs, communities, local authorities and businesses, in order to develop a program of multidisciplinary activities in areas at risk of depopulation by also taking advantages of the experience and comparison with other places in the European Union that suffer the same dynamics of demographic decline.

Figure 19- Origin of visitors (KiNESIS 2024 doc. "Cultural Tourism in Ufita Valley," University of Naples L’Orientale)

Figure 20- Duration of tourist stay (KiNESIS 2024 doc. "Cultural Tourism in Ufita Valley," University of Naples L’Orientale)

Figure 21- Valle d’Ufita demographic trend graph (ISTAT data)

Figure 22- Population decline of Unione Terre d’Ufita (ISTAT data)

Figure 23- Irpinia territory receptivity (ISTAT data)

Proposals and hypotheses for dealing with the phenomenon of depopulation

Importance of digitization

Following the assessment of the impact of tourism in Italian villages and some of the critical issues in the Ufita Valley area, the implications of digitization will now be examined, highlighting the potential benefits in terms of sustainability and highlighting how it now responds to labor and social needs, which have emerged especially in the aftermath of the pandemic, helping to counter the phenomenon of depopulation now rampant in smaller towns.

Smart-working

The percentage of employees who have adopted smart-working as a stable work model has remained at significantly higher levels than in the pre-Covid period. Indeed, workers who take advantage of smart-working appreciate the opportunity to manage their lives outside of work more effectively and to experience a more sustainable social dimension.

Although to a lesser extent than the European average, the smart-working phenomenon is gaining in importance as an alternative way of working in Italy.

This figure underscores the growing importance of digitization as a means of taking full advantage of the benefits of working remotely.

In fact, 41.5 percent of workers would be willing to move to more isolated places in contact with nature, while 34.5 percent would consider a small town, highlighting a growing focus on a more sustainable social dimension.

The Deployment of Ultra wide-band (UWB)

In recent years, there has been significant growth in accessibility to Ultra wide-band (UWB) in Italy's Most Beautiful Villages as well as in small urban centers, both at the level of coverage of municipalities and real estate units (REU) with the aim of reducing the market gap and fostering more favorable economic and social development conditions.

Reducing Environmental Impact: Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable tourism is an increasingly popular global practice that promotes practices aimed at limiting the impact of tourism activities on the environment by encouraging the discovery of traditions and maximizing the social and economic benefits of local communities.

In the areas of Irpinia, this type of tourism is a particularly valuable resource: enogastronomic tourism, aimed at the enhancement of typical products, nature tourism, focused on the discovery and enjoyment of natural landscapes and their biodiversity, and sports tourism involving trekking, climbing and mountain biking activities carried out in an eco-sustainable manner and with respect for the surrounding environment, can be a unique and effective attraction to increase the influx of tourists to the area .

In addition, the Ufita Valley's "Tratturi", or ancient footpaths used as passageways for herds, constitute historically designated trails that can be used for trekking and horseback riding activities.

One of the Irpinia tracts, demarcated in 2006 by the "Comunità Montana dell'Ufita" with wooden stakes and trees, involves the following municipalities: Ariano Irpino, Casalbore, Montecalvo, Villanova and Zungoli, as described in the Community's website that can be visited at http://cmufita.it/cmvalleufita/zf/index.php/servizi-aggiuntivi/index/index/idtesto/6

This type of tourism therefore strives to ensure that local communities can reap lasting benefits from the tourism industry by fostering the economic development of local communities through increased direct and indirect employment, promotion of local products and services, and preservation of cultural traditions. In addition, involving communities in decision-making and sharing economic benefits can help improve the standard of living of the inhabitants of the areas visited.

Figure 24- Percentage of smart-working employees by territorial area (ISTAT data)

Figure 25- Possible scenarios in the case of ordinary remote work (Inapp-PLUS Survey 2021)

Figure 26- Temporal evolution of UWB (FTTH) coverage in Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages (Department of Business and Made in Italy – Ultra Wide Band Strategic Plan 2023)

Figure 27- Temporal evolution of UWB (FTTH) coverage in Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages (Deloitte analysis of ISTAT data; Department of Business and Made in Italy)