Mixing culture, food and wine, and rural development to cope with the COVID-19-related crisis of the tourism industry in Italy

While being relatively protected from the direct costs of the COVID-19 pandemic measured in terms of human losses, in Italy, rural and natural areas have been instead severely hit by the negative impacts of the subsequent socioeconomic crisis. In this scenario, food and wine local tourism could be a key driver in supporting Italian rural territories, during and after the pandemic outbreak, as culinary traditions are an important part of the territorial identity, and also a vehicle for experiencing natural and cultural amenities. Based on a data collection that highlights the main characteristics of a sample of small municipalities located in natural and rural areas of Southern Latium, an evaluative exercise was implemented to identify opportunities and limits for developing a culturally sustainable local tourism offer based on a mix of culture, food and wine, rural, and natural amenities. The evaluative exercise was based on the analysis of ten elementary indexes aggregated in two composite indexes measuring tourism attractiveness and territorial development. The results of this study may contribute to reinterpreting local excursions toward regional peripheries as enhancers of the culturally sustainable development of rural and natural areas.