While cultural heritage refers to monuments and places to visit, it is also made of memories, traditions, craftsmanship, and relationships that shape the identity of local communities. When these elements are valued together with the people who live in those places, they can become a real driver for sustainable development, social inclusion, and new economic opportunities.
However, in many areas of the Mediterranean, mass and low-cost tourism risks concentrating economic benefits without creating a real positive impact for the people who live there every day. In Sicily and Tunisia, this is closely linked to rural depopulation, the loss of local traditions, and the challenge of turning cultural heritage into a shared and lasting resource.
HERITAS was launched to respond to this challenge by strengthening the role of culture and sustainable tourism in social and economic development, involving young people, women, and local communities in the promotion of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Active in Trappeto, Partinico, and Balestrate in Sicily, and in Nabeul in Tunisia, HERITAS promotes a community-based tourism model that puts people, places, and their stories at the centre.
Building networks for collective action
The goal is not only to preserve heritage, but to keep it alive, accessible, and recognised, turning it into a tool for participation and social innovation. This means creating connections between citizens, associations, and local actors so that tourism becomes not just a passing experience, but an opportunity for belonging and shared growth.
With this aim, three Community Workshops took place in March 2026 at Borgo Danilo Dolci in Trappeto, in the province of Palermo. The choice of location was meaningful: founded by Danilo Dolci – educator and activist of nonviolence – the Borgo has represented a living space of participation and grassroots development for decades, fully reflecting the spirit of HERITAS.
The sessions, organised by CESIE ETS and Le Vie dei Tesori in synergy with Land Impresa Sociale, brought together local businesses, institutions, students, and cultural associations in an open dialogue to co-create community tourism strategies rooted in the territories of Trappeto, Partinico, Balestrate, and the surrounding areas.
Following the workshops, the project moved into the territory itself through a series of community walks held in April 2026, turning dialogue into direct experience. The walks were guided by hospitality students from Istituto Danilo Dolci, who took part in non-formal education activities to explore the area, identify its most meaningful places, and transform them into routes of discovery and storytelling.
The first walk took place in Trappeto along Danilo Dolci’s routes, with the participation of Libera Università Popolare, the Fishermen’s Cooperative, and the students of Istituto Danilo Dolci, highlighting local memory and the connection between heritage and community. The second walk, held in Terrasini, focused on collective memory and civic engagement, also including the memory of Peppino Impastato, a symbolic figure of Sicilian history and social awareness.
In the coming weeks, HERITAS will continue its journey with a Masterclass in Sicily and another in Tunisia, designed to strengthen skills and connections between the territories and people involved.
Through these moments of exchange and discovery, HERITAS continues to strengthen the connection between people, places, and memory, promoting a vision of tourism based on listening, participation, and shared care for the territory.
About HERITAS
HERITAS – Valorisation du patrimoine culturel à travers des parcours participatifs citoyens et la création d’itinéraires de tourisme communautaire is a project funded by the INTERREG Italie – Tunisie programme.
Partners
- CESIE ETS (Italy), Coordinator
- Le Vie dei Tesori (Italy)
- CAWTAR (Tunisia)
- ANIMED (Tunisia)
For further information
Read more about the project.
Contact Antonina Albanese: antonina.albanese@cesie.org.
